The Türkenstraße is an inner city street 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 ...
's district
Maxvorstadt
Maxvorstadt (Central Bavarian: ''Maxvorstod'') is a central borough of Munich, Bavaria, Germany and forms the Stadtbezirk (borough) 3 Maxvorstadt. Since 1992, this borough comprises the former boroughs 5, 6 and 7 (Maxvorstadt-Universität, Maxvor ...
. It is named after the
Türkengraben (Turkish moat) to which it ran. In the list of historical monuments in Munich, more than 30 objects are listed in the Türkenstraße.
Location
The 1.3 km long Türkenstraße runs from the
Brienner Straße in a northeasterly direction and ends at the border of the district
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 ...
, in the
Georgenstraße
The Georgenstraße is a street in Munich, Germany and runs in an east-west direction north of the city center. It separates the Maxvorstadt in the south from Schwabing in the north. It leads from Leopoldstraße in the east to Lothstraße in the ...
.
History
The approval of the street name in 1812 by royal rescript of
Max I. is the first nomination as Türkenstraße.
In 1823, the ''
Türkenkaserne
The Türkenkaserne (or ''Neue Infanteriekaserne am Türkengraben und Prinz-Arnulf-Kaserne'') was a Bavarian Army barracks in the Maxvorstadt district of the German city of Munich.
History
Rejected plans
Planning
Construction
1826 to 1918
The ...
'' (Turkish barracks) were built on the area between Barer,
Gabelsberger, Türkenstraße and Theresienstraße.
Infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
regiments were initially stationed here, so the
barracks
Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...
was used by the Bavarian State Police after the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, which gave way during the ''
Drittes Reich'' of the ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
''. After civilian use in the
post-war
A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...
period, the barracks were demolished in the 1960s. All that remains today is the historically protected
Türkentor. On the site today are various museums, including the ''
Pinakothek der Moderne
The Pinakothek der Moderne (, '' Pinakothek of the Modern'') is a modern art museum, situated in central Munich's '' Kunstareal''.
The building
Designed by German architect Stephan Braunfels, the Pinakothek der Moderne was inaugurated in Se ...
'', and university institutes located.
As of 1848, on the corner of Brienner Straße stood the
Wittelsbacher Palais. Originally built as a Crown Prince's Palace for Max I, however, immediately after its completion it became the retirement seat of
Ludwig I and later the residence of
Ludwig III. After a varied history as a meeting place for the
Soviet Republic
A soviet republic (from ), also called council republic, is a republic in which the government is formed of soviets (workers' councils) and politics are based on soviet democracy. During the Revolutions of 1917–1923, various revolutionary ...
and
Gestapo
The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
headquarters, it was destroyed by a bombing in 1944. In 1964, the remaining ruins were removed and the
Bayerische Landesbank was built on its location.
In 1874,
August von Voit
Richard Jakob August von Voit (17 February 1801 – 12 December 1870) was a German architect specializing in glass and iron structures.
Notable projects
Voit designed the city hall of Annweiler am Trifels (Rhineland-Palatinate) and the in Rhin ...
set up a simultan school, where boys and girls of different faiths were equally received. After severe damage in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the school was renovated several times and received its present appearance in the 1950s. Today, in the building with the number 68, is a primary school with a ''Schülerhort'' (daycare) and after school program, as well as a municipal
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
. The square next to the school was named after
Georg Elser
Johann Georg Elser (; 4 January 1903 – 9 April 1945) was a German carpenter who planned and carried out an elaborate assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi leaders on 8 November 1939 at the Bürgerbräukeller ...
.
In 1903, Kathi Kobus opened the cabaret restaurant
Simplicissimus
:''Simplicissimus is also a name for the 1668 novel ''Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus, Simplicius Simplicissimus'' and its protagonist.''
''Simplicissimus'' () was a German language, German weekly satire, satirical magazine, founded by Albert ...
in the premises of the former
Crown Prince Rudolf.
Karl Valentin
Karl Valentin (, born Valentin Ludwig Fey; 4 June 1882 – 9 February 1948) was a Bavarian comedian. He had significant influence on German Weimar culture. Valentin starred in many silent films in the 1920s, and was sometimes called the "Cha ...
appeared regularly there in 1907, other regular guests included
Frank Wedekind
Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the developme ...
,
Ludwig Thoma
Ludwig Thoma (; 21 January 1867 in Oberammergau – 26 August 1921 in Tegernsee) was a German author, publisher and editor, who gained popularity through his partially exaggerated description of everyday Bavarian life.
After graduation from t ...
,
Thomas Theodor Heine
Thomas Theodor Heine (28 February 1867 – 26 January 1948) was a German painter, illustrator and cartoonist. Born in Leipzig, Heine established himself as a gifted caricaturist at an early age, which led to him studying art at the Kunstakademie ...
and Julius Beck.
Erich Mühsam
Erich Mühsam (6 April 1878 – 10 July 1934) was a German Antimilitarism, antimilitarist anarchism, anarchist essayist, poet and playwright. He emerged at the end of World War I as one of the leading agitators for a Federalism, federated Bavari ...
and
Joachim Ringelnatz
Joachim Ringelnatz is the pen name of the German author and painter Hans Bötticher
(7 August 1883 in Wurzen, Saxony – 17 November 1934 in Berlin). From 1894 to 1900 he lived with his family in the Gottschedstrasse 40 in Leipzig. Profile
Hi ...
were so-called house poets and until the destruction in 1944, the Simplicissimus was a central starting point for the Munich, in particular the Schwabinger, cultural scene.
Today, the Turkenstraße is located next to many restaurants, the
Museum Brandhorst
The Brandhorst Museum was opened in Munich on 21 May 2009. It displays about 200 exhibits from the modern art collection of the heirs of the Henkel trust Udo and Anette Brandhorst. In 2009 the Brandhorst Collection comprises more than 700 works. ...
and a police inspection office.
Historical monuments on Türkenstraße
Historically significant protected monuments on the Türkenstraße are, for example, the Palais Dürckheim (a former aristocratic palace and later Prussian legation), the Türkentor (entrance gate of the former Turkish barracks) or the Old Simpl. In addition, there are numerous rental buildings from the 19th century, which were designed in
neo-barock or
neo-Renaissance styles.
Literature
* Hugo Müller: ''Ein Münchner erinnert sich - Türkenstraße 26.'' Hugendubel, Munich 1989.
* Hella Schlumberger: ''Türkenstraße - Vorstadt und Hinterhof - Eine Chronik erzählt.'' Buchendorfer, Munich 1998. / Schmelcher, Munich 2003.
* Sepp Hödl: ''Die Türkenstraße - gestern und heute.'' Munich 1990.
References
{{Coord missing, Bavaria
Streets in Munich
Buildings and structures in Munich
Historicist architecture in Munich
Tourist attractions in Munich
Culture in Munich