The Ludwigstraße in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

is one of the city's four royal avenues next to the Brienner Straße, the Maximilianstraße and the Prinzregentenstraße. The avenue is named after King

Ludwig I of Bavaria Ludwig I or Louis I (; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the German revolutions of 1848–49, 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was crown prince, he was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. As ki ...

. The city's grandest boulevard still maintains its architectural uniformity envisioned as a grand street "worthy the kingdom" as requested by the king. The Ludwigstraße has served for state parades and funeral processions.

Architecture

The Municipality of the royal residence and capital city of Munich was first not enthusiastic about the extent of the new boulevard. The city authorities sought to impose a cut of the road, as they wrongly considered Munich not to grow in 100 years up to 1 km beyond the former city walls. Only when King Ludwig I threatened to transfer the residence to another city, the magistrate relented and approved the General Plan. Aerial image of Ludwigstrasse

The avenue begins at

Odeonsplatz The Odeonsplatz is a large square in central Munich which was developed in the early 19th century by Leo von Klenze and is at the southern end of the Ludwigstraße, developed at the same time. The square is named for the former concert hall, ...

and runs from south to north, it leads from the

Feldherrnhalle The Feldherrnhalle ("Field Marshals' Hall") is a monumental loggia on the Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany. Modelled after the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, it was commissioned in 1841 by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to honour the tradition of th ...

in the south to the

Siegestor The Siegestor () in Munich is a three-arched memorial arch, crowned with a statue of Bavaria with a lion-quadriga. The monument was originally dedicated to the glory of the Bavarian army. Since its restoration following World War II, it now stan ...

in the north, skirting the

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

, the St. Ludwig Church, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

) and other state ministries and palaces. The southern part of the avenue was constructed in

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

style by

Leo von Klenze Leo von Klenze (born Franz Karl Leopold von Klenze; 29 February 1784 – 26 January 1864) was a German architect and painter. He was the court architect of Ludwig I of Bavaria. Von Klenze was a devotee of Neoclassicism and one of the mo ...

from 1816 onwards. Klenze's last building was the Royal Ministry of War (Ludwigstr 14, today Bavarian State Archives; 1824–1830). Starting with the Bavarian State Library the northern part was then constructed since 1827 in line with a plan of Klenze's rival

Friedrich von Gärtner Friedrich von Gärtner (10 December 1791 in Koblenz – 21 April 1847 in Munich) was a German architect. Biography His father was also an architect, and moved in 1804 to Munich, where young Gärtner received his first education in architec ...

. The appearance is strongly influenced by Italian

romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

, which developed a new architectural style, the 'arched style' (''

Rundbogenstil (round-arch style) is a 19th-century historic revival style of architecture popular in the German-speaking lands and the German diaspora. It combines elements of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Renaissance architecture with particular s ...

''). Some buildings were constructed during the Third Reich, such as the Bavarian Department of Agriculture and the new construction which replaced the former

Herzog-Max-Palais Herzog-Max-Palais was a neoclassical palace at Ludwigstraße 13 in Munich, Germany. It belonged to the House of Wittelsbach and was built from 1828 to 1830 for Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria, father of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. In 1937, t ...

. One of the best palaces of Klenze it was demolished and today houses the Bavarian head office of the

Deutsche Bundesbank The Deutsche Bundesbank (, , colloquially Buba, sometimes alternatively abbreviated as BBk or DBB) is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Germany within the Eurosystem. It was the German central bank from 1957 to 19 ...

. After the World War II the opening in the middle of the Ludwigstraße for the new circular road Altstadtring caused further demolition and nowadays disturbs the original closed coverage type of the avenue which did not permit broad byroads. Its extension north of the Siegestor in

Schwabing Schwabing is a borough in the northern part of Munich, the Capital (political), capital of the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is part of the city borough 4 (Schwabing-West) and the city borough 12 (Schwabing-Freimann). The population of Sc ...

is called

Leopoldstraße Leopoldstraße is a street in the Munich districts Maxvorstadt, Schwabing and Milbertshofen. It is a major boulevard, and the main street of the Schwabing district. It is a continuation of Ludwigstraße, the boulevard of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, ...

. At its entrance northwest of the Siegestor is the building of the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

. In the distance further north in

the

Highlight Towers Highlight Towers is a twin tower office skyscraper complex completed in 2004 in Munich, Germany, planned by architects Murphy/Jahn of Chicago. Tower I is tall with 33 storeys, and Tower II is tall with 28 storeys, which make them among the h ...

are visible. The U3 and U6 lines of the

Munich U-Bahn The Munich U-Bahn () is an Railway electrification system, electric rail Rapid transit, rapid transit network in Munich, Germany. The system began operation in 1971, and is operated by the municipally owned Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG; Mun ...

run under the Ludwigstraße, with stations at

and the

Main sights

''From south to north'' *

with the former Odeon and the

Palais Leuchtenberg The Palais Leuchtenberg, (known between 1853 and 1933 as the Luitpold Palais or Prinz Luitpold Palais) built in the early 19th century for Eugène de Beauharnais, first Duke of Leuchtenberg, is the largest palace in Munich. Located on the west s ...

* Bavarian Main Records Office (Bavarian Hauptstaatsarchiv, former Bavarian Ministry of War; Leo von Klenze, 1824–1830) (Ludwigstr. 14) *

(Bayerische Staatsbibliothek; Friedrich von Gärtner, 1832–1842) (Ludwigstr. 16) * Bavarian Higher Administrative Court (Bayerischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof; former convent building, Friedrich von Gärtner, 1840–1843) (Ludwigstr. 23) * Seminar Building of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (Former Blindeninstitut; Friedrich von Gärtner, 1833–1825) (Ludwigstr. 25) * Former headquarters of the BHS-Bayerische Berg-, Hütten- und Salzwerke AG (Friedrich von Gärtner, 1840–1843) (Ludwigstr. 27) * St. Ludwig University Church (Universitätskirche St. Ludwig; Friedrich von Gärtner, 1829–1844) * Ducal Georgianum (Friedrich von Gärtner, 1834–1841) (Professor-Huber-Platz 1) * Max-Joseph-Stift (Friedrich von Gärtner, 1837–1840) (Professor-Huber-Platz 2) *

(Friedrich von Gärtner, 1835–1840) (

Geschwister-Scholl-Platz (Scholl Siblings Plaza) is a short semi-circular plaza located in front of the main building of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (), located on the Ludwigstraße in Munich, Germany. The plaza is named in memory of the Scholl siblings ...

1) *

(Friedrich von Gärtner, 1843–1852)

References

External links

{{Authority control 1827 establishments in Bavaria Transport infrastructure completed in 1827 Ludwigstrasse

Ludwigstraße The Ludwigstraße in Munich is one of the city's four royal avenues next to the Brienner Straße, the Maximilianstraße and the Prinzregentenstraße. The avenue is named after King Ludwig I of Bavaria. The city's grandest boulevard still mainta ...

Ludwig I of Bavaria