Working and living in Munich
Munich -the exciting Bavarian capital
Munich is not just beautiful but also the site of magnificent research © f9photos / iStock.com
The state capital of Bavaria in southern Germany is Munich, a city that combines top-level research at universities and research institutions with a high quality of life and close proximity to other parts of Europe.
Published: 2024-04-08
By: Maike Mintelowsky, Maike Schade
Munich as a research location
LMU Munich is one of the leading research universities in Europe. In the first round of the Initiative for Excellence, a Germany-wide competition to promote high-calibre research at universities, LMU attracted the highest amount of funding at 180 million euros in order to support a graduate school and three clusters of excellence.
In the second round, LMU, together with the Technical University of Munich, is represented by four Clusters of Excellence (Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST), Walther Meissner Institute for Low Temperature Research, Deutsches Museum München, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ).
In the new application phase of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments, LMU Munich and its partners can submit full proposals for a total of three new Clusters of Excellence by the summer.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, there were 24 higher education institutions and five universities in the Munich metropolitan region in March 2023. Three of the six universities are located in the state capital of Munich. The city is known for its Theatre Academy, the German School of Journalism and the Ifo Institute for Economic Research. The Fraunhofer Society is also headquartered in the Bavarian capital.
The Garching campus in the north of Munich is a base for scientific and technical research institutions including TUM (Munich's technical university), institutes within the Max Planck Society, LMU Munich, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities as well as a number of other leading institutes and companies.
History
Munich was first mentioned in records in 1158. Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, established a toll bridge near a settlement of monks here and so Munich owes its name to the Middle High German word for 'monk'. A monk adorned the city's coat of arms as early as 1239.
Religion has always played a major role in Munich: numerous monasteries and churches in the city can be traced back to the Capuchin order that is still resident there today. Buildings such as the Renaissance church of St. Michael, which was built as the centre of the Catholic Counter Reformation in the late 16th century, or the landmark Frauenkirche cathedral are major elements in the cityscape.
Living in Munich
With a population of around 1.5, Munich is the third largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. The English Garden, a public park in the northeast of Munich, is even bigger than New York's Central Park and is the ideal place to jog, cycle or go riding. There are many beer gardens where you can relax over a litre of beer and a portion of white sausage or you can enjoy the view of the nearby Alps from the Olympic Tower. Not forgetting the rich cultural offering: Museums with famous masterpieces from several centuries, concert halls and nationally renowned theaters are just as plentiful as exciting clubs and cozy Bavarian pubs.
With Switzerland, Austria, Italy, the Alps and some wonderful lakes like Lake Starnberg or Lake Tegernsee all nearby, a huge variety of day trips is possible including leisure activities such as hiking, climbing or mountain biking. In winter there are plenty of ski resorts for sports and relaxation.
Districts such as trendy Schwabing, lively Pasing with its turn-of-the-century villas and desirable Haidhausen offer a high quality of life. This also affects rents – housing is more expensive in Munich than in any other German city.
Typical aspects of Munich
When you think of Munich, the first thing that comes to mind is the Oktoberfest which – if you look closely – mainly takes place in September. The first festival was a horse race arranged on 17 October 1810 in honour of the marriage of crown prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Hildburghausen. These days, the Oktoberfest is a massive event featuring a huge number of tents, large and small, and drinking, singing and partying. You should also visit the Viktualienmarkt, Munichs famous farmer's market.
Understanding the Bavarian dialect is challenging, even for visitors from other parts of Germany as demonstrated by the existence of Bavarian-German dictionaries.
Although far from the sea, water sports enthusiasts will not be disappointed by the Bavarian state capital. In the heart of the city centre the Eisbach, the fiercest tributary of the Isar River, forms an artificial wave that is used by river surfers from all over the world.
Video | Munich: Outdoors and practically free (Deutsche Welle)
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