Germany, Munich

Munich is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern).

Munich is Germany's third largest city and one of Europe's most prosperous. The city has a population of about 1.3 million (as of 2006) and the Munich metropolitan area is home to around 2.7 million people. The city is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps.

Munich lies on the elevated plains of Upper Bavaria, about 50 km north of the northern edge of the Alps, at an altitude of about 520 m.

Munich is situated in the Northern Alpine Foreland. The northern part of this sandy plateau includes a highly fertile flint area which is no longer affected by the folding processes found in the Alps, while the southern part is covered by morainic hills.

Demographics

In December of 2006 Munich had 1.326 Million inhabitants, 300,129 of them without German nationality. The largest groups of foreign national have been the Turks (43,309), Croats (24,866), Serbs (24,439), Greek (22,486), Austrians (21,411) and Italians (20,847). 37% of the foreign national come from the EU. 2.6 million people live in Greater Munich.

Religion

39.5% of inhabitants are Catholic and 14.2% Protestant (as of 31st of dec 2005).

Economy

Munich has the strongest economy of any German city. The city is also the economic center of Southern Germany. The initiative “Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft (INSM)” (New Social Market Economy) and the “WirtschaftsWoche” (Business Weekly) magazine have awarded Munich the top score in their comparative survey for the third time in June 2006.

Munich is also one of the centers of the German new economy as a center for biotechnology, software and other service industries.

Culture

The city has several important art galleries, most of which can be found in the Kunstareal, including the Alte Pinakothek, the Neue Pinakothek, and the Pinakothek der Moderne.

The Deutsches Museum, located on an island in the Isar, is one of the oldest and largest science museums in the world.

Nightlife in Munich is thriving with over 6,000 licensed establishments in the city, especially in Schwabing, which is still the main quarter for students and artists.

Transportation

Munich Airport
Franz Josef Strauss International Airport (IATA: MUC, ICAO: EDDM) is Munich's main airport, some 30 km to the north east of the city centre.

Public transportation
For its population, Munich has one of the most comprehensive systems in the world, incorporating the Munich U-Bahn (subways), the Munich S-Bahn (suburban trains), trams and buses.