Karolinenplatz: Info about the historical square with its black obelisk

Karolinenplatz at a glance

• Location: Karolinenplatz is located in Munich's Maxvorstadt district at the intersection of Brienner Straße (west-east) and Barer Straße (north-south). The tram lines 27 and 28 cross the square in a semicircle.

  Places of interest: Obelisk (war memorial for the Bavarian victims in Napoleon's Russian campaign), Amerika-Haus, Munich Stock Exchange, nearby: Nazi Documentation Center, Königsplatz

  History: The square was created around 1810 by Bavarian King Max. I. in honor of his wife Karoline

• Find out more about Königsplatz with its famous museums
• Learn more about the Amerikahaus here

Worth seeing: Black Obelisk and Amerikahaus

• A black obelisk rises in the middle of the lawn decorated with flowers. It was erected in 1833 on the orders of King Ludwig I and commemorates the Bavarian soldiers who fell during Napoleon's Russian campaign in 1812.
• In 1957, the Amerika-Haus, including a library, was built on Karolinenplatz. Exhibitions and events about North America are held here.

History: How the Karolinenplatz got its name

When the Bavarian ruler Maximilian I Joseph entered into an alliance with the French emperor Napoleon in 1806, he wanted to finally enlarge his capital city Munich, which had become too small for its 40,000 residents. He named the newly founded district Maxvorstadt after himself and in 1809 made Karolinenplatz, to which he gave the name of his wife, the hub of the new quarter.

The architect Karl von Fischer envisaged three interruptions of the new boulevard Brienner Strasse - these being Wittelsbacher Platz, Karolinenplatz and Königsplatz. The king entrusted him with the realization of the new square, as he had already designed the English Garden.

From 1930 to 1945, the so-called "Brown House" (Brienner Str. 45), the Munich party headquarters of the National Socialist Party NSDAP, was located near Karolinenplatz.