Marienplatz & New Town Hall
The vibrant central square of Munich and its beating heart since 1158, framed by the soaring neo-Gothic New Town Hall. Crowds gather daily beneath its tower to watch the famous Glockenspiel, where dozens of life-sized figures whirl out scenes from the city's past.
About this place
Marienplatz has been the main square of Munich since the city was founded in 1158, serving for centuries as a bustling grain market known as the Schrannenplatz before taking its present name from the golden Marian column at its centre. Today it is dominated by the vast Neues Rathaus, or New Town Hall, an intricately carved neo-Gothic masterpiece built between 1867 and 1905 by the architect Georg von Hauberrisser, who was only twenty-five when he won the commission. Its eighty-metre tower is home to the celebrated Rathaus-Glockenspiel, whose forty-three bells and thirty-two life-sized figures re-enact a ducal wedding tournament and the plague-ending coopers' dance each day at 11am and noon. At the heart of the square stands the Mariensäule, a golden statue of the Virgin Mary as Patrona Bavariae, raised in 1638 in gratitude for the city's survival of the Thirty Years' War. From royal proclamations to joyous festivals, this square remains the pulsing civic and social hub of Munich.
Key facts
- 1158 year — Munich's main square since the city was founded on this spot
- 80 metres — Height of the New Town Hall's soaring neo-Gothic tower
- 32 figures — Life-sized figures re-enact history daily in the Glockenspiel
📍 Marienplatz 8, 80331, München