Munich 850th birthday, years 1158 to 2008

Next year Munich is celebrating its 850th anniversary. Founded by Henry the Lion in 1158, Munich can look back at very fascinating history. The motto of the celebration is 'Bilding bridges' which is word play on the foundation of Munich. Henry the Lion wanted to secure power (and money) from the Isar salt trade, destroyed the bridge of Bishop of Freising and built his own bridge next to a Benetictine settlement: Munich.

The city of Munich is spending about 6,3millionEUR (including 2,7million from sponsors) on the festivities which will last from mid-June to mid-September starting on the 13th June 2008. So far, there are plans for various events ie. Live music, theatre, sports, festivities at various historical locations:

13th June: Opening ceremony at Gasteig
14th-15th June: Stadtgründungsfest - 850th Anniversary Celebrations
5th-6th July: Festivities around Jakobsplatz
19th-20th July: entertainment; sports, street theatre acting scenes of Munich life in history
1st-3rd August: Parties surrounding the three brigdes: Maximilliansbrücke, Ludwigs- and Corneliusbrücke
13th Sept: Art Festival

More information can be found here
(unfortunately the website is only in German at the moment)

Henry the lion , any relation to Parsley the very friendly lion or Clarence the cross eyed one?

The city of Munich presents the plans for the event of 19/20 July 08. It's called the Altstadtringfest. The Altstadtring (ring road of munich) will be closed to cars for 2 days and 1 night.
activities and events will be talking place at the following locations:
isator and im tal: medival munich will be represented with entertainment, stalls etc.
karl-scharnagl ring: sports ie climbing
marstallplatz: science
odeonsplatz: art, a show by valerio festi
wittelsbacherplatz: contemporary art
platz der opfer des nationalsozialismus: politics/history
maxilimiansplatz: music, live shows etc
also, sonnenstrasse and sendlinger tor: music
stachus: events by sponsors

read here (german)

Woo-Hoo! Three big parties: Stadtgründungsfest 14/15 June, Altstadtringfest 19/20 July and Isarbrückenfest 1-3 August.

The Stadgründungsfest celebrates the foundation of Munich on 14 June 1158 with a stage program linking the traditional Bavarian and the international peoples and their (our?) cultures living here. There's going to be an arts and crafts market at Odeonsplatz and folk dancing, 10,000 participants in a medieval costume parade, events for children and raft racing.

The Altstadtringfest is just one big two-day party as far as I can read. Party on, Karl-Heinze, g'ai? Ja, party on der Sepp!

They're dubbing it 'the romantic' Isarbrückenfest. Munich's answer to "H'unnerneef the h'arches". Theatre, music, food and surprises alongside the Isar.

I LOVE this city.

When the 845th anniversary was celebrated, I happened to be in town that weekend for the first time. I loved it, and in the end I moved here

I love this city too!

Sorry, i know it's meant to be a serious thread but that just had me spilling my drink over the keyboard, brilliant!

In 2008, Munich will be hosting a great summer of festivals: the Bavarian capital will be turning 850 and this will be celebrated
extensively. For a European city, 850 years is not really very old. What is astonishing, however, is that the town was
able to evolve from a monastery to an attractive hub of culture and high-tech of European proportions. Over time, Munich
has maintained its flair as a city with much joie de vivre, and it has consistently been open to the avant-garde and progress.

The motto of the birthday is “Building bridges� and it aims to connect the founding of the city with today’s lively, colorful
and yet tradition-oriented urban culture. Munich’s foundation goes back to Henry the Lion, who, in 1158, destroyed the
Isar bridge on the old salt road, which lay somewhat to the north at the time. He then built a new bridge near “Munichen.�
The city received market and minting rights in this context, which set the cornerstone for undreamt of growth into a city of
over a million inhabitants.
Munich likes to celebrate. For its 850th birthday, it will enjoy three major events:

June 14-15, 2008 City foundation festival:
The cultural program of this annual citizen’s festival in the inner city will be expanded to suit the occasion.
July 19-20, 2008 Old Town Ring Road festival:
A theatrical, musical and playful journey in time on the Old Town Ring Road
August 1-3, 2008 Isar Bridge festival:
A romantic festival on the bridge with a light installation, music under the bridge, dancing on the riverbanks, reflections on
the water.

Topics merged by admin

Munich likes to celebrate. For its 850th birthday, it will enjoy three major events:

June 14-15, 2008 City foundation festival:
The cultural program of this annual citizen’s festival in the inner city will be expanded to suit the occasion.
Highlights:
A Handicraft Market will be erected on Odeonsplatz and multi-cultural Folk dancing shows inviting the audience to dance along. A medieval children’s world will be on offer for the kiddies, along with International and Bavarian culinary offerings.

July 19-20, 2008 Old Town Ring Road festival:
The Altstadtring will be closed to traffic and turned into one big street party. 11 stages will be erected at 10 stations around the ring and will offer entertainment around the clock from Saturday at 2PM to Sunday 6PM.

August 1-3, 2008 Isar Bridge festival:
A romantic festival on the bridge with music under the bridge, dancing on the riverbanks and light shows on the water. The entertainment program promises fun for the whole family during the day, and plenty for the night-owl after sundown. The festival grounds will cover the banks of the Isar from the Cornelius bridge to the Maximilansbridge.

Topics merged by admin

I searched for this on the site, and found f-all. Now, AFTER I do the research, suddenly admin has all these other entries. Where were they hiding before?
Oh, well. At least I was able to add a bit more about when, where, and what.