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Born Hermina Knapp (1892–1947), Minna was the Queen of Yodeling at Platzl.

This music theatre festival was founded in 1988 by composer Hans Werner Henze. The city of Munich commissions young composers to write their first full work for the festival. Now a biannual event, the festival has become an established highlight in the cultural life of the city, with a broad programme.

Best places to enjoy the spectacular fireworks: Bavaria statue, Olympiaberg, high-rises, and the highest banks of the Isar.

More than six million visitors make the pilgrimage to the world’s largest popular fair, the Wiesn, which takes place over 16 days in September.

Under Ludwig II, Munich grew into a centre of music, and was the site of premieres of Wagner’s operas and of a major Mozart festival. In 1910, the Richard Strauss festival week was launched, a tradition continued in the Opern-Festspiele, which features both classic works and contemporary pieces, accompanied by the innovative Festspiele + programme.

Cabaret artiste Ida Schumacher (1894–1956) was the best Ratschkathl . She created the tram-track-crack-cleaning-lady character.

A farmer’s son (1906–75) famous for his spirited performances of Gstanzln – satirical rhymes set to music – and a master of barbed humour.

Every seven years, the Dance of the Coopers is performed to commemorate the end of the plague in the 15th century.

Perfect for rummaging and strolling are the giant flea market on the Theresienwiese in April and the largest open-air flea market in Bavaria, on the grounds of the Neue Messe (Alfons-GoppelStraße 3).

Perhaps a sign of the times, second-hand has gone mainstream, and “vintage” stores are springing up overnight.