Marienplatz takes its name from the Marian column at its centre. This structure was erected by Duke Maximilian after the Thirty Years' War to thank the Virgin Mary that Swedish troops spared Munich from destruction. The square has been Munich's beating heart since medieval times, when it was called Schrannenplatz and served as the city's market until 1807.

The Glockenspiel in the New Town Hall tower performs twice daily at eleven and noon, three times in summer when it adds 5pm. The upper figures depict a wedding celebrated here in 1568 with two weeks of feasting, music, and jousting. The men in black and red below are coopers who danced through the streets in 1517 after plague lifted, vowing to repeat it every seven years. They still do, only during carnival. Next performance: 2026.

The New Town Hall looks centuries old but was finished only in 1908, built to accommodate a population that exploded from 40,000 to 400,000 in a hundred years. During the war, this square and 90 percent of Munich was destroyed. What stands today is largely rebuilt.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours explain how medieval salt traders passed through here on their route from Bad Reichenhall, trace the Viktualienmarkt's 1807 move from this square, and reveal the Beer Hall Putsch march that was stopped 500 metres away in 1923.