Münchner Freiheit

Münchner Freiheit, looking north

The Münchner Freiheit (called Münchener Freiheit until 1998)[1] is a square in Munich's Schwabing, near the English Garden. It is a popular tourist attraction, especially during winter when one of Munich's largest Christmas markets takes place.

A station for the Munich U-Bahn is located at the square and named after it (see Münchner Freiheit (Munich U-Bahn)).

A German pop group, Münchener Freiheit, derived their name from the location, and have retained the original spelling.

Origin of the name

The square at Leopoldstraße was originally known as Feilitzsch Platz, after a Bavarian interior minister. In 1933 it was renamed Danziger Freiheit or "Danzig freedom", in expression of the wish to see the city of Danzig returned to German rule. In 1945 an anti-Nazi resistance group, Freiheitsaktion Bayern, had taken control of two Munich radio towers and began broadcasting propaganda, and so after the war the name Münchener Freiheit or "Munich freedom" was selected in their honor.[2] The alternative spelling Münchner Freiheit was adopted by the city council in 1998 though Münchener Freiheit remains popular.

References

  1. ↑ Harry Luck: Die "Münchener Freiheit" verliert ein "e" (German)
  2. ↑ "Places of Remembrance and Commemoration" (PDF). Landeshauptstadt München Kulturreferat/NS-Dokumentationszentrum. 2010. pp. 104–105.

Coordinates: 48°09′40″N 11°35′10″E / 48.161°N 11.586°E / 48.161; 11.586

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.