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Theatrical dance is known in Munich for a very long period but it achieved the true financial freedom with the help of the Bavarian State Government, when Bavarian State Opera developed into one of the excellent companies in the international dance scene in 1988. But this all not happened, instantaneously, instead it survived through a very long struggle to reach at that stage.

Like other European Capitals, the ballet had the same root even in Munich like as having the tradition of court festivities in the Italian and French manner of the 16th and 17th century. Short ballets used to perform not only as part of operas, but also as independent works to commence or end a performance. From the start of the 19th century, legendary names came into the limelight that of Paul and Marie Taglioni danced at the Munich National Theatre in 1825 at the re-opening after one of the then frequent theatre fires.

Lola Montez an adventuress of Irish- Scottish descent, traveled through Europe as a Spanish dancer. In Munich, the ageing King Ludwig was this much impressed by her appearance so that he had painted her for his famous portrait gallery and even elevated her to peerage. In the middle of summer, 1847, Lola Countess of Landsfeld by the virtue of her powers ordered a special performance of the ballet Giselle that had been produced at the Munich National Theatre in 1845, only four years after its Paris premiere.

Munich Royal Theater still continued for century at the royal court in a very indifferent and novel ways being as part of the Royal, then as a State Opera.   After the World War II, once again in 1945 Marcel Luipart set to work, and gathered the members of the company amidst the bomb ruins of what was once the Royal Opera House. They all gathered in a room still with four walls and a standing strong roof to support a temporary roof. Marcel Luipart thereafter staged a successful series of ballets, adapted from the heritage of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, however in his own choreographic adaption and style.

From 1952 – 1954 Pia and Pino Mlakar directed the company along with Alan Carter and his wife and ballet mistress Joan Harris and introduced the British dance tradition. With the introduction of an annual ballet festival week in 1960 Heinz Rosen opened the door of the company for the international ballet world. He managed the guest performances of complete companies and of stars for the Munich dancers and audience alike. Till the opening of reconstructed National Theatre in November 1963, ballet (and opera) performed in the Prinzregenten Theatre, an artdéco theatre, with arena like auditorium, imagined by the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth. After long years of disuse and complete renovation the National Theater re-opened in 1996 and now serves as additional stage for the Bayerische Staatsballet. In September 1998 Ivan Liška became ballet director of the Bayerische Staatsballett and hence the Bavarian State Ballet since then touching new heights.

Munich, the name is being popular is now further associated with the Oktoberfest and the Hofbrдuhaus, the Olympic grounds and Fasching, the Viktualienmarket and Schwabing. Apart form these distinguished landmarks of Munich; it is much popular for its international reputation of a city of art and culture.

In Munich it is located, the head office of the German cultural organisation – the Goethe Institute. The city was a prominent center for arts in the nineteenth century under the patronage of Ludwig I and II, and at the start of the twentieth century. It is considered as a pioneer of the new Expressionist movement. The Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider) group was established in 1911 by the Russian, Wassily Kandinsky, and Munich-born Franz Marc. The most important work of Blaue Rider includes permanent show at the Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Luisenstrasse 33. The Entire culture of Munich can be read separately under following heads:

•   Music: Munich’s musical legacy is undertaken by the attracting figure of Richard Wagner, who has mixed up many interesting works from Ludwig II. His successors, Richard Strauss and Carl Orff, were both born in Munich. Along this,    Mozart too has performed in the city and Gustav Mahler organized the world premiere of his eighth symphony here in 1910. Presently, Munich has three international orchestras: the Munchener Philharmoniker, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Bayerische Staatsorchester.

•  Theatre: Munich has always been a lively and engaging theatre town and massive clapping sound can be listen from any corner of the Munich, as there are situated a good number of Theaters in Munich. About 60, theaters that too includes the big and small presents a better choice between the traditional and contemporary theater, opera and concerts.  The real attraction of the scene is the traditional Munich Opera Festival in July.

•  Dance: The Moriskentanzer (Morris Dancers) by Erasmus Grasser (1480) is one of the attractions at the Stadtmuseum (City Museum).  The Bavarian State Ballet performs at the Nationaltheater. The group consists an international ballet week in spring of each year; the Kirov Ballet were guests in 1999.

•  Films: In Munich, annually 50 films are produced and have roots for some of the most popular German cinema, involving Rainer Werner Fassbinder who learnt drama here and Werner Herzog who was born in Munich in 1942. Both directors, there worked at the Bavaria Film Studios in Geiselgasteig that was founded in 1919.

The Oktoberfest in Munich, is also popular as Wies’n in Munich by the locals and is the largest beer festival in the world.  It is being organized ever year in Munich about late September and early October. It catches as much as about 6 million visitors annually to the Oktoberfest. Apart from huge amount of beer, there enormous amount of grilled chickens, sausages and pretzels are consumed during the annual event of Oktoberfest.

Though these facts may appear to be exaggerated but one should enjoy the Oktoberfest once in their lives.  In order to make a trip to Oktoberfest, it is worth billion dollars to plan prior about it. For the first time Oktoberfest was held in 1810 when Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The marriage took place on October 12th, 1810, and on October 17th, on the occasion a very big horse race was organized there and the event was repeated 1819, and henceforth it was decided by the city council to make this occurrence a festival and to be celebrated every year.

Since then it is been organized every year at the Theresienwiese, named after “Therese” of Saxony-Hildburghausen, in Munich for two weeks in late September and early October. The entire preparation for the Oktoberfest started about two months before the festivities that started over there. Six Munich breweries and about eighty showmen set up their beer halls and various attractions such as ghost trains, roller coasters and a variety of fairground rides for the festivities.

However, one would amazed to see that festival location and surrounding during the fest have their  own infrastructure like streets, toilets, police, post office, first-aid station and sewage system. Thousand of people are employed every year only to work there.       The Oktoberfest boosts not only boost tourism in the region but also have a very measured impact upon economy of Munich.

In order to the popularity and scale of the Oktoberfest, it is always wise to have booking the flight and as well hotel well in advance. As rates for flights and hotels there zoom during the Oktoberfest and it even equally applies even for some of the largest beer halls, and most of them there are on the prime Roads and even are also referred to as     “Bierzeltstrasse” (beer-hall road). Beer there is consumed in large and heavy 1-liter mugs. It is not nor as easy to the get do the usual part of ½ liter but Beer drunk in large and heavy 1-liter mugs. It is hard to get the usual portion of ½ liter but if you are lucky, you might be able to order ½ liter of Weißbier (“eine Halbe Weißbier”) but this is not the usual thing. The Oktoberfest beer is a special kind of beer that is stronger than the ordinary beer so beware. The best way to reach Oktoberfest is on foot as it is about 15 minutes away from Munich’s main Hauptbahnhof station and is quite easy to search out.