Munich (/ˈmjuːnɪk/; also /ˈmjuːnɪx/ in UK English; German: München, pronounced [ˈmʏnçn̩],Bavarian: Minga [ˈmɪŋ(ː)ɐ]) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria, on the banks of River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg and the 12th biggest city of the European Union with a population of above 1.5 million. The Munich Metropolitan Region is home to 5.8 million people. The city is a major centre of art, advanced technologies, finance, publishing, culture, innovation, education, business and tourism in Germany and Europe and enjoys a very high standard and quality of living, reaching #1 in Germany and #4 worldwide according to the 2015 Mercer survey.

The name of the city is derived from the Old/Middle High German term Munichen, meaning "by the monks". It derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who ran a monastery at the place that was later to become the Old Town of Munich; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat of arms. Munich was first mentioned in 1158. From 1255 the city was seat of the Bavarian Dukes. Black and gold—the colours of the Holy Roman Empire—have been the city's official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian, when it was an imperial residence. Following a final reunification of the Wittelsbachian Duchy of Bavaria, previously divided and sub-divided for more than 200 years, the town became the country's sole capital in 1506. Catholic Munich was a cultural stronghold of the Counter-Reformation and a political point of divergence during the resulting Thirty Years' War, but remained physically untouched despite an occupation by the Protestant Swedes; as the townsfolk would rather open the gates of their town than risk siege and almost inevitable destruction. Like wide parts of the Holy Roman Empire, the area recovered slowly economically.

Munich (German: Landkreis München) is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It borders (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Dachau, Freising, Erding, Ebersberg, Rosenheim, Miesbach, Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, Starnberg, Fürstenfeldbruck, and almost encircles (except for the west and northwest sides) district-free city Munich itself, which is the district seat.

History

The history of the region is connected to the city of Munich.

The district was established in 1852 and underwent several changes due to the ongoing incorporation of municipalities into the city of Munich. In 1972 the constant shrinking of the district was compensated by adding nine municipalities from the former district of Wolfratshausen.

Geography

The district is located in the east and the south of the city Munich, mostly covering the moraine plain around Munich. In the south of the district the foothills of the Alps start, which also contain the highest elevation of the district, two hills 703 m above sea level in the municipality Schäftlarn. The lowest elevation with 471 m is near Unterschleißheim in the north of the district. The main river is the Isar, which also flows through the city of Munich.

Munich (German: München) is the capital of the German federal state of Bavaria

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