Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/49

 MUNICH in the same year published her first novel. The long series of romances which followed gained great popularity, and brought her a large for- tune, enabling her to support her husband du- ring the long illness which preceded his death, and to build a handsome residence in Berlin, where she was a prominent figure in literary society. Mme. Mundt was an advocate of fe- male suffrage and of great changes in the social position of women, an extreme liberal in her political views, and a frequent participant in reform movements in these and similar direc- tions. She wrote many essays on social ques- tions. Her historical romances have been translated into English, and are as well known in Great Britain and America as in Germany. The facts of history are very freely treated in them, and the imagination of the writer is al- lowed full liberty ; but the narratives are spir- ited, and the social features of the periods of which they treat are often fairly repre- sented. The best known of these works are "Frederick the Great and his Court," "Joseph II. and his Court," " The Merchant of Berlin," " Frederick the Great and his Family," " Ber- lin and Sans-Souci," " Henry VIII. and Catha- rine Parr," "Louisa of Prussia and her Times," " Marie Antoinette and her Son," " The Daughter of an Empress," " Napoleon and the Queen of Prussia," "The Empress Josephine," "Napoleon and Bliicher," " Queen Hortense," "Goethe and Schiller," "Andreas Hofer," "Prince Eugene and his Times," and "Mo- hammed Ali and his House." Among her la- test works were "The Thirty Years' War," " Emperor William," and "From Koniggratz to Chiselhurst," all published in 1873. She wrote in all more than 50 separate novels, comprising nearly 100 volumes. MUNICH (Ger. MuncJien), the capital of Ba- varia 'and of the district of Upper Bavaria, on the Isar, in the midst of an extensive plain, 1,700 ft. above the level of the sea, in lat. 48 9' N., Ion. 11 35' E., 33 m. S. E. of Augsburg, 290 m. S. S. W. of Berlin, and 220 m. W. of Vi- enna; pop. in 1871, 169,478 (in 1812, 40,000). It is celebrated for its architectural splendor, for its admirable institutions and works of art, and for its university. The city is composed of the old and the new town and of five sub- urbs on the left bank and three on the right bank of the Isar. The river is spanned by four bridges, the Isar bridge being the largest and the Maximilian the finest and most recent. The number of streets is about 275, and new streets are springing up in every direction, particularly near the new railway stations in Haidhausen and other suburbs, and in the S. part of the city. The streets in the old town are irregular, but spacious and bustling. The most celebrated in the modern city are the Ludwig and Maxi- milian streets, which respectively contain the most remarkable public and private buildings. There are nearly 20 squares, of which the Max- Joseph is the largest; and others conspicu- ous for attractiveness are the Odeon, Wittels- bach, Maximilian, Karl, and Promenade squares, the Carolinenplatz, and the Konigsplatz. Fa- vorite promenades are the Hofgarten and the English garden, the latter remarkable for a Greek temple and other embellishments. The S. continuation of it, known as the Hirschau, abounds with deer, stags, and pheasants ; and N. of the park is the new zoological garden. Not far from Munich is the park adjoining the palace of Nymphenburg, and the picturesque scenery of the upper banks of the Isar makes many of the neighboring villages favorite resorts, while the immediate vicinity of the city teems with public gardens. Munich contains upward of 20 Koman Catholic churches and chapels. St. Peter's, the oldest, dates from the 13th century. The Gothic cathedral (FrauenMrche), com- pleted at the end of the 15th, has two lofty dome-capped towers. St. Michael's is remark- able for the beauty of the interior and for the width of its roof unsupported by pillars; it contains Thorwaldsen's monument of Eugene de Beaurharnais. St. Cajetan's contains the tombs of the royal family. The modern edi- fices are however the most interesting. All Saints' chapel (Allerheiligen-Kapelle or Hof- Tcapelle) has columns of red Tyrolese marble with white bases and gilded capitals. The upper part of the aisles is incrusted with col- ored marbles ; all the rest is covered with frescoes upon a golden ground. The Lud- wigskirche, in the round arch style, is also fa- mous for the beauty of its execution and its designs, and for the wealth of its decorations, which comprise colossal statues of St. Peter and St. Paul and other works by Schwan- thaler, and Cornelius's "Last Judgment," up- ward of 60 ft. high. The parish church of Maria-Hilf, in the Au suburb, and in the Ger- man pointed style of the 14th century, with high lancet windows, contains 19 painted win- dows illustrative of incidents in the life of the Virgin. The church or basilica of St. Boni- face, finished in 1850, in the Byzantine style, is the largest and most splendid of them all. The front has a portico of eight Corinthian columns with three bronze doors. The side facades have a double row of round-headed windows. The interior, divided into a nave 75 ft. high and 50 ft. wide, and a number of aisles, is supported by 64 monolithic columns of marble disposed in four rows. The pave- ment is of marble mosaic, and the roof of open timber work, the beams of which are carved and richly decorated, and the ceiling between them azure with golden stars. The frescoes on the walls represent saints and martyrs and incidents in the life of St. Boni- face. The majority of the population are Ko- man Catholics, and an archbishop resides here. Munich has also recently become the great centre of the Old Catholic movement. There are about 16,000 Protestants, who have several places of worship. There is only one syna- gogue, Jews being less numerous here than in most other parts of Germany, numbering