Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/36

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26 MUNICH architects and builders, several normal schools, a con servatory of music, a dramatic training school, and about twenty -five elementary schools. Among the numerous benevolent institutions the most prominent are the asylums for the blind, the deaf and dumb, and the insane, and the general hospital. The general prison in the suburb of Au is considered a model of its kind ; and a large military prison has just been erected. Amongst the other public buildings which call for mention are the crystal palace, 765 feet in length, erected for the great exhibition of 1854; the slaughter-houses, covering 9 acres of ground; the Wittelsbach palace, in the Early English Pointed style ; the post-office ; the arsenal, containing a military museum ; the new railway station, the art -industrial in stitution, the Maximilian barracks, the corn hall, and the aquarium. Among the numerous monuments with which the squares and streets are adorned, the most important are the colossal statue of Maximilian II. in the Maximilianstrasse, the equestrian statues of Louis I. and the elector Maximilian, and the obelisk erected to the 30,000 Bavarians who perished in Napoleon s expedi tion to Moscow. Munich is well supplied with public parks. The Eng lish garden, to the north-east of the town, is 600 acres in extent, and was laid out by the celebrated Count Rumford in imitation of an English park. On the opposite bank of the Isar, above and below the Maximilianeum, extend the Gasteig promenades, commanding fine views of the town. To the south-west of the town is the Theresienwiese, a large common where the popular festivals are celebrated. Here is situated the Ruhmeshalle or hall of fame, a Doric colonnade containing busts of eminent Bavarians. In front of it is a colossal bronze statue of Bavaria, 170 feet high, designed by Schwanthaler. An admirable view is obtained from its summit. The finest of the cemeteries of Munich is the southern cemetery, outside the Sendlinger Thor. The dead-houses in the cemeteries are used for the strange custom of keeping the corpses several days before interment, dressed in their usual attire and exposed to public view. The botanical garden, with its large palm- house, and the Hofgarten, surrounded with arcades con taining fine frescos of Greek landscapes by Rottmann, complete the list of public parks. The population of Munich amounted at the census of 1880 to 230,023 inhabitants, of whom 110,033 were males and 119,990 females. These lived in 8791 dwelling- houses, and formed 53,457 households. The garrison numbers about 7000 men. Only 37 per cent, of the in habitants are born in Munich, most of the remainder coming from the country districts of Bavaria (53 per cent.) and other parts of Germany (5-|- per cent.). Another census was taken in 1882 to elicit the occupations of the inhabitants, when it was found that 148,913 persons, or considerably more than half the population (64 per cent.), were supported by trading and manufacturing, while of the remainder 27,592 (12 per cent.) belonged to the official, military, and professional classes, 30,038 (13 per cent.) had no profession, and 24,237 (10 - 5 percent.) were engaged in domestic ser vice. The population has been quintupled since 1 80 1 , when it was only 48,885. In 1680 it was 20,000, in 1783 it was 38,000. The annual death-rate is high, exceeding 30 per thousand. This is, however, mainly accounted for by the abnormal mortality among children, after allowance for which the rate is not over 20 per thousand. About 85 per cent, of the inhabitants are Roman Catholics, and many of Munich s most characteristic features are due to the fact that it is the centre of Roman Catholicism in southern Germany. Since the census of 1875 the number of Pro testants in Munich has increased by 32 per cent., while the Roman Catholics have increased by 13| per cent. only. Munich is the seat of the archbishop of Munich-Freising, and of the general Protestant consistory for Bavaria. About thirty newspapers are published here, including the prin cipal Ultramontane sheets of south Germany. Some of the festivals of the Roman Church are celebrated with con siderable pomp ; and the people also cling to various national fetes, such as the Metzgersprung, the Schafflertanz (occurring septennially), and the great October festival in the Theresienwiese. The popular life of Munich may be said to revolve round its breweries and beer -gardens, where the manners and customs of the people may be conveniently studied. The commerce and manufactures of Munich are scarcely commensurate with its artistic importance, though it has lately begun to take rank among the great industrial centres. It has long been celebrated for its artistic handicrafts, such as bronze-founding, glass-staining, silver smith s work, and wood-carving, while the astronomical instruments of Fraunhofer and the mathematical instru ments of Ertl are also widely known. Lithography, which was invented at Munich at the end of last century, is still extensively practised here. The other industrial products include wall-paper, railway plant, machinery, gloves, and artificial flowers. Perhaps the most charac teristic industry, however, is the preparation of the national beverage. In 1879 upwards of 28 million gal lons of beer were brewed in Munich, only one -fifth of which was sent to other parts of Bavaria or exported. This represents an annual consumption of at least 125 gallons per head of population, while the rate in England is only 40 gallons per head. Trade, especially in grain and artistic goods, is now rapidly growing. Four im portant markets are held at Munich annually. History. The history of Munich, as distinct from that of Bavaria, has been very uneventful. The Villa Munichen or Forum ad Monachos, so called from the monkish owners of the ground on which it lay, was first called into prominence by Duke Henry the Lion, who established a mint here in 1158, and made it the em porium for the salt of Hallein and Reichenhall. The dukes of the Wittelsbach house occasionally resided at Munich, and in 1255 Louis the Severe made it his capital, having previously surrounded it with walls and a moat. The town was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1327, after which the emperor Louis the Bavarian, in recognition of the devoted loyalty of the citizens, rebuilt it very much on the scale it retained down to the beginning of the present century. Among the following rulers those who did most for the town in the erection of handsome buildings and the foundation of schools and scientific institutions were Albert V. (1550-1579), William V. (1579-1596), Maximilian I. (1597-1651), Max Joseph (1745-1777), and Charles Theodore (1778-1799). In 1632 Munich was occupied by Gustavus Adolphus, and from 1705 to 1715, and again in 1742, it was in possession of the Austrians. In 1791 the fortifications were razed, and room thus made for the enormous development the city has since experienced. The modern history of Munich may be dated from the accession of King Louis I. in 1825, since which, as already indicated, nearly all the most handsome streets and buildings of the town have been constructed. Like the Bavarians in general, the citizens of Munich are naturally inclined to adhere to the traditionary both in politics and in religion, but of late the population has become permeated with more advanced ideas. Munich s importance in the history of art is entirely of modern growth, and may be dated from the acquisition of the ./Eginetan marbles by Louis I., then crown prince, in 1812. Among the emi nent artists of this period whose names are more or less identified with Munich were Klenze, Ohlmiiller, Gartner, and Ziebland, the architects ; Cornelius, Kaulbach, Schnorr, and Rottmann, the painters ; and Schwanthaler, the sculptor. The art of fresco- painting may be said to have been resuscitated in Munich during this reign, and the artistic handicrafts of bronze -founding and glass-staining were also practised with a success previously unknown in modern days. Munich is still the leading school of painting in Germany, but the romanticism of the earlier masters has been abandoned for drawing and colouring of a thoroughly realistic char acter. Piloty and W. Diez stand at the head of this school. Authorities. Mittheilttngen des statistischen Bureaus der Stadt Miinchen, vols. i.-v., 1875-1882; Soltl, Miinchtn rn.it seinen Umgebungen, 1854; Reber, Eau- technischer Fiihrer durch die Stadt Miinchen, 1876 ; Trautwein, Fiihrer durch Miinchen, 12th ed., 1881 ; Daniel, Handbuch der Georjraphie, new ed., 1882- 1883. (J. F. M.)