History of Munich Trivia Quiz

Answer: Built a bridge

Prince Henry the Lion was one of the most powerful princes in Germany. At the time, he was Duke of Saxony and Bavaria. Munich existed mostly as a community of monks who operated, among other things, a trading post. Traders would pay tolls on a bridge owned by the archbishop. That is until Prince Henry the Lion built his own bridge nearby, charged a larger toll and destroyed the archbishop's bridge.

This happened in 1158, and is the first written mention of a place called Munich.

Answer: Salt

Louis IV granted Munich a monopoly along the salt trade. Salt from Salzburg was required to stop in Munich rather than Freising on its way to Augsburg. This proved to be a huge boom for Munich although the success was short lived because the city was devastated by a fire in 1327.

Answer: Frauenkirche

Frauenkirche was completed in 1488 and was part of the city's revival after a fire burnt Munich in 1429. Frauenkirche translates to the Cathedral of Our Dear Lady in English and is the seat of the Archbishop of Munich (it translates basically as "woman church".

The church is best known for its two brick towers that stand 99 meters tall and can be seen from most places within the city as there are strict height restrictions on buildings so as not to obstruct the view of the towers.

Answer: Habsburgs

The Habsburgs seized control of Munich in 1705 during the War of Spanish Succession. The Habsburgs were met with a series of uprisings and revolts. One of the most notable of these is the Sendlinger Mordweihnacht or the Sendling's Night of Murder in 1705. On Christmas Day, farmers and peasants marched from the village of Sendling to Munich. Over 1,100 farmers were murdered after allies within Munich betrayed them.

Answer: Ludwig I

Ludwig I of Bavaria was more inclined to the arts and education than his predecessors. As a result, many of Munich's most iconic buildings were constructed during his reign including Ruhmeshalle and Palais Ludwig Ferdinand. In addition, he built canals, railways and universities.

As a result of his reign, Munich became much more industrial and artsy, although his time in power was also very tumultuous and he was forced to abdicate in 1848.

Answer: Increasingly violent

Munich was the epicenter of unrest in Germany after the war. In 1918, Ludwig III fled the city to avoid a revolt. Kurt Eisner, a socialist journalist, became the Minister President of Bavaria. However, he was assassinated by a right-wing revolutionary a few months later. Communists then gained a foothold but they too were pushed out of power in 1919 by the right-wing militia Freikorps. Thousands of people died in revolts and protests. Ultimately, Munich became the center of right-wing politics in Germany.

Answer: Burgerbraukeller

On November 8, 1923, Adolf Hitler and his followers stormed the Burgerbraukeller beer hall in a failed attempt to overthrow the Weimer Republic. Munich was chosen because it was seen as the city closest politically to the Nazi Party. However, the coup was stopped. Hitler was arrested. However, the ensuing trial gave Hitler exposure to spread his ideas and gain attention in Germany. After his release from prison, Hitler returned to Burgerbraukeller in 1925 and re-formed the Nazi Party. During his reign of power, Hitler celebrated the anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch with a speech at and a march to Burgerbraukeller. In 1939, Hitler escaped an assassination attempt at Burgerbraukeller when a bomb detonated and killed eight people.

Burgerbraukeller was demolished in 1979. Today, the spot where the beer hall once stood now is home to the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.

Answer: Czechoslovakia

The Munich Agreement was signed on September 30, 1938, and is largely seen as one of the large blunders that led to World War II. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, in an attempt to appease Hitler, gathered several European nations in the hopes of avoiding large-scale war.

In exchange for the German-speaking areas of Czechoslovakia called Sudentenland, Hitler would not make any additional territorial claims in Europe. The Munich Agreement failed spectacularly as Hitler quickly reneged on the deal and by March 1939, Germany seized control of all of Czechoslovakia.

Answer: Their housing in Olympic Village

West Germany hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich with the goal of shedding it militaristic image. As a result, there was less open security at the Games, something athletes and officials criticized before the hostage taking. On September 5, members of the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September stormed the housing of the Israeli Olympic Team and took several athletes and officials hostage.

The hostage takers demanded the release of 234 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel as well as their West German allies. Negotiations went nowhere and the police stormed the building. All of the nine hostages were killed in addition to two athletes who were killed before the assault, as well as one police officer.

Answer: Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

In 1977, Joseph Ratzinger became Archbishop of Munich, a position he would hold until 1982. Afterward, he became more active in Vatican affairs, especially in the Vatican's intellectual matters. After Pope John Paul II died in 2005, Ratzinger was the obvious choice to succeed him although it was reported he preferred not to be elected to the papacy.

However, he accepted the call and became the first German pope in nearly 1,000 years.