On Saturday we went on a walking tour throughout the city. The walking tour of Munich was great because we were able to see all of the important places in the center of the city. The tour guide had many great stories to share with us about each location that we visited and culture in Bavaria. First, she gave us a history lesson about the celebration of Oktoberfest. The celebration first began as a marriage ceremony in the early 1800’s. This was an important celebration because many people from the neighboring towns and cities came to celebrate the marriage. This was an important historical event that has developed into a larger festival that celebrates the long brewing tradition in Bavaria. Though Oktoberfest has developed into a tourist attraction in Munich, it is still an important celebration of beer and culture.
We visited several different Catholic churches throughout the city during this tour as well. It was very interesting to see the differences between the baroque and neo-gothic styles in the churches. The baroque style is often very ornate and sometimes gaudy. During this period the Catholic Church sought to draw people into the church by creating these elaborate sculptures of saints and paintings of various scenes in the bible. The use of images was important because most of the services were given in Latin, so the German laypeople could not understand the bible readings. The people were able to understand what the important stories and messages from the bible through the images that they were able to see. I also thought it was interesting to see the different levels within the baroque style church. There was a clear distinction between the first level, which is where the laypeople and the priest sit, the middle level where the saints reside, and the upper level where God and the angels reside. These visual levels depict the transition from the earth to the heavens. The neo-gothic style Catholic Church was very different from the baroque style church. This is a much simpler style that focuses on high arches and ceilings as well as beautiful stained glass. The church we visited was unique because it had some of the original stained glass from when the church was initially built. The glass was removed and stored before the war so it was not destroyed when the church was bombed. The two Catholic churches we visited were beautiful and in sharp contrast to many of the Protestant churches we saw in Berlin.
During the tour we also visited the opera house. This building has been rebuilt several times due to stage fires. The most interesting part of this building is that it is maintained with the money collected from a beer tax in Munich. This beer tax was developed as a means to support the arts within the city and it continues today. This is a great representation of how beer and culture are integrated in Munich.
The final part of our tour was to watch the Coopers’ dance. This dance is performed every seven years and is a celebration of the end of the Black Plague. Munich was devastated by the plague, and it cause people everywhere to lock themselves in their houses for fear of catching the plague. Once the plague was over people were still scared to leave their houses. That is, until the coopers, the men who make the barrels that beer is stored in, decided to dance in the street. They decorated the barrel rods with flowers and foliage and danced around in the street to let everyone know that they plague was over and it was safe to leave the house. This dance is a very jubilant dance that celebrates the good health of the people of Munich. The Coopers’ dance has been performed every seven years since the end of the Black Plague. We were lucky to be able to see this performance and once again beer is integrated with Bavarian culture.
This tour was fantastic because we have been able to see many important historical sights as well as the integration of beer with Bavarian culture.
Prost!
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