4 Best Sights in Munich, Germany

This stunning example of a rococo theater, originally called the New Opera House but now called Cuvilliés-Theater or Altes Residenz-Theater, was originally built by court architect François Cuvilliés between 1751 and 1753 and it soon became the most famous in Germany. In 1781 it premiered Mozart's Idomeneo, commissioned by the Elector of Bavaria, Karl Theodor. The lavish rococo style went out of fashion with the emergence of the less ostentatious, more elegant period of 18th-century classicism. But in 1884 it became the first theater in Germany to be fitted out with electric lighting and in 1896 the first to have a revolving stage. As with so much of the Altstadt, it was destroyed during Allied bombing raids, although some of the original rococo decoration had been removed. A new theater, the Neues Residenz-Theater (now the Bavarian State Drama Theatre Company) was built (1948–51) in a different location. In 1956–58, using some of the original rococo furnishings, Cuvilliés's lavish theater was rebuilt at a corner of the Residenz's Apothekenhof (courtyard).

Siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, fellow students Alexander Schmorell and Christian Probst, and Kurt Huber, professor of philosophy, were the key members of the Munich-based resistance movement against the Nazis in 1942–43 known as the Weisse Rose (White Rose). All were executed by guillotine. A small exhibition about their work is in the inner quad of the university, where the Scholls were caught distributing leaflets and denounced by the janitor. A memorial to White Rose is just outside the university.

Originally built between 1563 and 1567, the ground floor was home to Duke Albrecht V's stables, the second floor to living quarters for the servants, and the third to the ducal collection of high art and curiosities (6,000 pieces by 1600). Between 1809 and 1983 it housed the Bavarian mint, and a neoclassical facade, with allegories of copper, silver, and gold, was added in 1808–09. Today, with its slightly garish green exterior on three sides, it can appear to be little more than the somewhat undistinguished home to the Bavarian Land Bureau for the Conservation of Historic Monuments, but step inside the inner arcade to see a jewel of German Renaissance architecture.

The Residenzmuseum comprises everything in the Residenz apart from the Schatzkammer (Treasury) and the Cuvilliés-Theater. Paintings, tapestries, furniture, and porcelain are housed in various rooms and halls. One highlight is the Grüne Galerie (Green Gallery), named after its green silk decoration, and its opulence and outstanding paintings are captivating. Also impressive is the Ahnengalerie (Ancestral Gallery) at the end of the tour, which demonstrates the Wittelsbach royal family lineage.