Sights in Bavaria
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Münchener Tierpark Hellabrunn
Around 5000 animals inhabit Munich's 'geo-zoo' (one with distinct sections dividing animals by continents). The Münchener Tierpark Hellabrunn, to the south of the city, was one of the first of its kind. The sprawling, well-maintained grounds are home to rhinos, elephants, deer and gazelles, as well as a special petting zoo, full of cuddly sheep, deer and lambs. To get there take the U3 to Thalkirchen or bus 52 from Marienplatz.
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ETA-Hoffmann-Haus
The 18th-century writer and composer Ernst Theodor Amadeus (ETA) Hoffmann (1776-1822) is best known for using the fantastical and supernatural to probe the complexity of human experience. Hoffmann came to Bamberg in 1808 as the local theatre's music director, but lost his job after a disastrous first performance. He nevertheless stayed in town until 1813, working as a tutor and writer. His former home, ETA-Hoffmann-Haus, is now a small museum.
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Schloss Nymphenburg
This commanding palace and its lavish gardens sprawl around 5km northwest of the Altstadt. Begun in 1664 as a villa for Electress Adelaide of Savoy, the stately pile was extended over the next century to create the royal family's summer residence. Franz Duke of Bavaria, head of the once royal Wittelsbach family still occupies an apartment here.
The main palace building consists of a large villa and two wings of creaking parquet floors and sumptuous period rooms. Right at the beginning of the self-guided tour comes the highpoint of the entire Schloss, the Schönheitengalerie (Gallery of Beauties), housed in the former apartments of Queen Caroline. Some 38 portraits of…
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Kunstbau
Kunstbau is a 120m-long underground tunnel above the U-Bahn station Königsplatz. Works of the expressionist Blauer Reiter (Blue Rider) artist group founded by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc in 1911 are shown here as well as at the nearby Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus.
It's scheduled to close in 2009 for a top-to-bottom renovation directed by British star architect Lord Norman Foster. A reopening date has not been set.
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Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
A Gutenberg Bible, the original Carmina Burana and 1000-year-old prayer books are part of the amazing archive of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Founded in 1558 by Duke Albrecht V, it's in another Gärtner building and brims with 9.1 million volumes, nearly 400,000 maps and subscriptions to over 42,000 periodicals. Yup, that would make it one of the largest in the German-speaking world. Check it out, if only for the free art exhibits.
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Museum im Kulturspeicher
In a born-again historic granary right on the Main River, you'll find this absorbing art museum with choice artworks from the 19th to the 21st centuries. The emphasis is on German impressionism, neo-realism and contemporary art, but the building also houses the post-1945 constructivist works of the Peter C Ruppert collection, a challenging assembly of computer art, sculpture, paintings and photographs.
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Neue Residenz
Neue Residenz is a huge episcopal palace now housing a significant collection of baroque paintings. The 40-odd rooms vie with the artwork for your attention, especially the elaborately decorated Kaisersaal (Imperial Hall), where the ceiling is smothered in a complex allegorical fresco. The baroque Rosengarten (Rose Garden) behind the palace has fabulous views over Bamberg's red-tiled roofs.
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Jakobskirche
One of the few places of worship in Bavaria to charge cheeky admission, Rothenburg's Lutheran parish church was begun in the 14th century and finished in the 15th. The building sports some wonderfully aged stained-glass windows, but its real pièce de résistance is Tilman Riemenschneider’s carved Heilig Blut Altar (Sacred Blood Altar). The gilded cross above the main scene depicting the Last Supper incorporates Rothenburg’s treasured reliquary: a capsule made of rock crystal said to contain three drops of Christ’s blood.
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Theatinerkirche
The mustard-yellow Theatinerkirche, built to commemorate the 1662 birth of Prince Max Emanuel, was dreamed up by Swiss architect Enrico Zuccalli. Also known at St Kajetan's, it's a voluptuous design with two massive twin towers flanking a giant cupola. Inside, an intensely ornate dome lords over the Fürstengruft (royal crypt), the final destination of several Wittelsbach rulers, including King Maximilian II.
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Dokumentationszentrum
A visit to the Dokumentationszentrum in the north wing of the Kongresshalle helps to put the grounds into some historical context. A stunning walkway of glass cuts diagonally through the complex, ending with an interior view of the congress hall. Inside, the exhibit Fascination and Terror examines the rise of the NSDAP, the Hitler cult, the party rallies and the Nuremberg Trials. Don't miss it.
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Stadtmuseum Fembohaus
Offering an entertaining overview of the city’s history, highlights of the Stadtmuseum Fembohaus include the restored historic rooms of this 16th-century merchant's house. Also here, Noricama takes you on a flashy Hollywoodesque multimedia journey (in German and English) through Nuremberg’s history.
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BMW Museum
Redesigned from scratch and reopened in 2008, the BMW Museum is like no other car museum on the planet. The seven themed 'houses' examine the development of BMW's product line and include sections on motorcycles and motor racing. However, the interior design of this truly unique building, with its curvy retro feel, futuristic bridges, squares and huge backlit wall screens, almost upstages the exhibits.
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Dom St Kilian
Würzburg's Romanesque Dom St Kilian was built between 1040 and 1237, although numerous alterations have added Gothic, Renaissance and baroque elements. The whole ecclesiatical caboodle was under heavy renovation at the time of writing, but was set to reopen in early 2013.
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Cuvilliés-Theater
Commissioned by Maximilian III in the mid-18th century, François Cuvilliés fashioned one of Europe's finest rococo theatres. Famous for hosting the premiere of Mozart's opera Idomeneo, restoration work in the mid naughties revived the theatre's former glory and its stage once again hosts high-brow musical and operatic performances.
Access is limited to the auditorium where you can take a seat and admire the four tier of loggia, dripping with rococo embellishment, at your leisure.
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Mittelalterliches Kriminalmuseum
Brutal implements of torture and punishment from medieval times are on show at this gruesomely fascinating museum. Exhibits include chastity belts, masks of disgrace for gossips, a cage for cheating bakers, a neck brace for quarrelsome women and a beer-barrel pen for drunks, and there are also displays on local witch trials. Visitors can have their photo taken in the stocks outside.
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Stadtmuseum
To mark the city's 850th birthday in 2008, the Stadtmuseum restructured its collections to create the 'Typisch München' (Typically Munich) exhibition. This condenses Munich's tangled past into five easily digestible periods, with a chronological walking route leading through the rambling building. Exhibits in each section represent what is most typical for the time, and explain why.
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Jüdisches Museum Franken
A quick U-Bahn ride away in the neighbouring town of Fürth is the Jüdisches Museum Franken. Fürth once had the largest Jewish congregation of any city in southern Germany, and this museum, housed in a handsomely restored building, chronicles the history of Jewish life in the region from the Middle Ages to today. To reach the museum, take the U1 to the Rathaus stop in Fürth.
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Schloss Concordia
After Böttinger's family of 14 outgrew the space three years later, he hired Johann Dietzenhofer to build the even grander Schloss Concordia, a moated palace a short walk south of Böttingerhaus. It's now the home of the Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia, a state-sponsored artists' residence, and is open during events and exhibits - the tourist office can let you know what's on when.
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Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde
A bonanza of art and objects from Africa, India, the Americas, the Middle East and Polynesia, the State Museum of Ethnology has one of the most prestigious and complete ethnological collections anywhere. Sculpture from West and Central Africa is particularly impressive, as are Peruvian ceramics, Indian jewellery, mummy parts, and artefacts from the days of Captain Cook.
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Olympiastadion
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SeaLife
If you're looking to keep the kids amused (and can stomach the budget-busting admission, SeaLife is the place to head. Reef sharks, moray eels and seahorses are among the 10,000 creatures on display, all presented in aquariums with recessed glass viewing ports. Tunnel walkways lead you right through some tanks – the next best thing to scuba diving. Save money by purchasing tickets online beforehand.
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Schaetzlerpalais
Schaetzlerpalais was built for a wealthy banker between 1765 and 1770, and today houses the Deutsche Barockgalerie (German Baroque Gallery) and the Staatsgalerie (Bavarian State Gallery). The pièce de résistance is the 23m-long ballroom - a riot of carved decorations, stucco and mirrors, all topped off with a kinetic ceiling fresco.
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Verkehrszentrum
Sheltered in an historic trade fair complex, the Verkehrszentrum features some fascinating exhibits, with hands-on displays about pioneering research and famous inventions, plus cars, boats and trains, and the history of car racing. Another section shows off the Deutsche Museum's entire vehicle collection, ranging from the first motorcars to high-speed ICE trains.
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Church of St Lawrence
Lorenzerplatz is dominated by the massive Lorenzkirche (Church of St Lawrence). Nuremberg's once-competing Catholics were split into factions north and south of the river; the latter made a statement with this massive 15th-century church crammed with artistic treasures. Highlights include the stained-glass windows and Veit Stoss' Engelsgruss (Annunciation).
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Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum
Pose with a bronze boar, admire a rococo hunting sledge or examine prehistoric fishing tackle at the old-school Deutsches Jagd und Fischereimuseum, spread across three floors of a former Augustinian church. There are plenty of stuffed critters and dioramas alongside trophies, weapons, paintings and porcelain embellished with hunting motifs. Creepy or captivating? Up to you.
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