A Museum Trip Around Munich Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pinakothek der Antike

"Pinakothek" means "painting collection" and that's exactly what these museums are. Originally created for the Bavarian King's Royal collection, there are now three separate collections: the "Alte Pinakothek" (old Pinakothek) is for art from the 18th century and older, the "Neue Pinakothek" (new Pinakothek) is one of the world's leading collections of 19th century paintings and the "Pinakothek der Moderne" (Pinakothek of the modern era) is for 20th century and contemporary art. If you wish to visit the "Neue Pinakothek", you'll have to wait until approximately 2025 however - the museum was closed for urgent renovations to the 1850s building at the end of 2018.

Answer: Science and technology

The "Deutsches Museum" is the world's leading collection of technological artifacts including many unique exhibits as well as extensive interactive teaching facilities. Comprising several interlinked buildings as well as an underground mining exhibit and a planetarium, it occupies an entire island in the Isar river fittingly called "Museumsinsel" (museum island).

A major renovation project has kept approximately half of the museum closed since 2015 and extending into the 2020s, but even so, it will be close to impossible to see everything on offer in a single day.

When the whole of the museum is open, you might as well schedule the better part of a week for a visit.

Answer: BMW

The BMW museum was built in the 1970s and is notable not only for its collection of automobile and aerospace exhibits but also for its unique architecture. The building's shape resembles a salad bowl (which is also its nickname) and the museum tour will lead visitors upwards on an ascending spiral as they explore BMW's history from the humble beginnings to one of the world leading car brands.

Answer: Beer and brewing

When looking for a beer museum in Munich, most people will first think of the German Brewing Museum, part of the Stadtmuseum (city museum). However, this is not the only option - the cozier and smaller but no less interesting Bier- und Oktoberfestmuseum located in a 14th century building also covers the topic and will provide interested parties with ample options for beer tasting as well.

Answer: A Nazi concentration camp

Dachau was the site of the first Nazi concentration camp, established in 1933 and liberated in April 1945. Unlike most of the later camps, it did not play a significant part in the Holocaust or host many Jewish prisoners, but it was rather the camp where most political prisoners were kept. Living conditions in Dachau were better than in the later camps - but that by no way meant they were humane. No mass executions took place at Dachau, but prisoners still died in large numbers from overwork, disease and malnutrition.

The memorial site and exhibit are set up such that visitors will follow the part of freshly arriving prisoners of the time.

Answer: Not at all - the sites are still in active, daily use

Unlike many other cities' Olympic installations, Munich's 1972 sites have never fallen out of use. All major sports venues are still being used as such over 40 years later and the park and many of its buildings are used for cultural events of all kinds. The Olympic village has been repurposed and largely rebuilt for regular housing, with about half of it dedicated for university students.

If you ask me, the bustling sites, fully integrated into Munich's daily life, are functioning well as a living museum and doing a great job of keeping the spirit of the games alive - probably better than any formal museum could do.

Answer: A natural history museum

Munich's natural history museum, called "Museum Mensch und Natur" ("Museum of Man and Nature") is currently a relatively small facility located in Nymphenburg Palace, the Bavarian kings' summer residence established in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. A major expansion is being planned, with a new building to be constructed on the grounds, but still very controversially viewed since the proposed architecture is at odds with the historic buildings.

The most famous exhibit at the museum consists of two stuffed brown bears killed in Bavaria - one killed in 1838 and one in 2006. They are special because they were actually the last two brown bears seen in Germany. Several attempts were made to capture the 2006 individual alive, but the bear, commonly called Bruno, proved too aggressive to do so.

Answer: "The Neverending Story" and "Das Boot"

The 1980s were the heyday of Munich's film industry with the worldwide success of "The Neverending Story" and "Das Boot". After these productions, many of the sets and props used were preserved as part of a permanent exhibit with guided tours offered. Similar to many studio tours offered worldwide, the Bavaria one offers lucky guests the chance to take part in short production simulations, among them a blue-screen flight on the luckdragon Falkhor.

The actual "Filmmuseum" does not have a permanent exhibit, but it has an extensive collection of films presented in daily showings in an in-house cinema equipped for projecting movies all the way from the 1920s to today.

Answer: Royal coaches and carriages

The word "Marstall" actually means "Royal stable", but the focus is not on horses but rather the carriages. The museum itself, also located at Nymphenburg Palace, has the most extensive collection of hostoric Royal coaches and carriages anywhere in the world, of course concentrating on those it was founded from - the many splendid carriages owned by House Wittelsberg.

Answer: Jewish festivals and rituals

Munich's Jewish museum aims at primarily presenting a living image of Jewish life and at educating both Jews and non-Jews about the festivals, rituals and customs that characterize the religion. There are also exhibits about the history of Jews in the city of Munich and Bavaria, but the primary focus is on the religion, and among that, the important Jewish rites of passage.