Munich Justizpalast 19th century Postcard

Stachus is a large square in central

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. The square was officially named Karlsplatz in 1797 after the unpopular

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria Charles Theodore (; 11 December 1724 – 16 February 1799) was a German nobleman of the Palatinate-Sulzbach, Sulzbach branch of the House of Wittelsbach. He became Count Palatine of Sulzbach at the age of six following the death of his father J ...

. Munich natives seldom use that name, calling the square instead ''Stachus'', after the

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

''Beim Stachus'', once owned by Eustachius Föderl, that was located there until construction work for Karlsplatz began. Even the

U-Bahn Rapid transit in Germany consists of four systems and 14 systems. The , commonly understood to stand for ('underground railway'), are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while the or ('city rapid railway') are c ...

and

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

announcements use the unofficial name.

Architecture

The most important buildings dominating the square are on the east side of the '' Karlstor'', a gothic gate of the demolished medieval fortifications together with the ''rondell buildings'' on both sides of the gate (constructed by

Gabriel von Seidl Gabriel von Seidl (9 December 1848 – 27 April 1913) was a German architect and a representative of the historicist style of architecture. Early life, education and early career Gabriel Seidl was born in 1848 in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria. H ...

1899-1902). The gate was first documented in 1301 and called Neuhauser Tor until 1791 when it was renamed Karlstor in honor of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria. During the summer, a large fountain operates in front of the Karlstor and in winter an open-air ice rink is installed there. The most significant buildings on the opposite west side are the neo-baroque '' Justizpalast'' (Palace of Justice) and the ''Kaufhof'', the first postwar department store built in Munich (by Theo Pabst, 1950-1951). A new building is planned for the Hotel Königshof. The underground contains a large shopping center. Also between Stachus square and

Marienplatz Marienplatz (English language, English: Mary's Square, i.e. St. Mary, Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady's Square) is a town square, central square in the city centre of Munich, Germany. It has been the city's main square since 1158. History During ...

, the main pedestrian area of the city, (

Neuhauser Straße Neuhauser Straße is part of the first and largest pedestrian zone in Munich's Old Town. Here, many retail shops and restaurants are to be found. Location and direction The road runs almost straight ahead in the southeast-northwest direction o ...

/ Kaufingerstraße) houses numerous shops and restaurants. The

Karlsplatz (Stachus) Stachus is a large square in central Munich, Bavaria. The square was officially named Karlsplatz in 1797 after the unpopular Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria. Munich natives seldom use that name, calling the square instead ''Stachus'', aft ...

and

station is located below the square. Stachus also serves as a hub for the city's tramway system, with a four track tram station located on Altstadtring, the Old Town's orbital road system.

External links

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360° View of Stachus
{{Coord, 48, 08, 21, N, 11, 33, 57, E, region:DE-BY_type:landmark, display=title

Tourist attractions in Munich Shopping districts and streets in Germany