Munich – Dachau

January 24 Sunday

We rose early this morning and made our way into the centre of Munich, admiring the city’s impressive monuments, palaces, sporting facilities and churches which line the grand boulevards that sweep into the centre of town. Our wonderful tour guide, the highly entertaining and uber-organized Maritza, is a Munich girl originally, and so we benefitted from a highly detailed commentary about the sights and traditions of Bavaria’s vibrant capital. We headed straight for our concert venue, the Baroque Buergersaalkirche (Citizen’s Assebly Hall Church), now the Marian Men’sCongregation Church of the Annunciation, right in the Heart of downtown Munich. Built in 1710, the building is interesting in that it is actually two churches built above eachother. Whilst relatively modest on the outside, the church itself boasts a magnificent and ornate interior, well lit by natural light and crystal chandeliers and featuring Sistine Chapel-like frescos on the ceiling and gold-covered statues and decorations.



At one end of the church a large three manual organ decorated in the baroque style dominated the huge choir gallery, from which we would sing during the High Mass. After a short rehearsal, the power and magnificence of the instrument became evident, as did the stunning acoustics of the building. We performed a selection of our repertoire, beginning with the bold and dramatic ‘Ecce Saccerdos’ by Anton Bruckner, calling on all our vocal strength to match the huge sound generated by the organ. Other items sang included Leavitt’s Kyrie, Bruckner’s Locus Iste, Mozart’s Ave Verum, Willcock’s Infant Holy, and various other items ending with a fabulous rendition of Rachmaninov’s Bogorodytse Dyevo (Rejoice O Virgin). A completely full church enthusiastically received our performances, and by the end of the Mass, there were around fifty people standing at the back and sides of the Church. Following the postlude, we were invited to move to the front of the chancel steps and then performed a short concert to a capacity audience who greeted our performances of Bruckner, Brahms and other short items with a loud and sustained standing ovation… a rare honour in Germany.



The acoustics of the church were perfect… and allowed us to sing with lots of dynamics and expression. Moments in Bruckner’s Os Justi and Tota Pulchra es Maria were magical, as the sound we made during the great forte passages hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity.



Afterwards we were presented with a relic of the recently Beatified ‘Apostle of Munich’ Father Rupert Mayer SJ, who’s tomb now lies in the lower church, and individual gold medallions and booklets commemorating his life and story. His birthday had fallen the day before, so it was a special time for his church’s congregation. We were presented with these gifts by a senior member of the Church Herr Franz Samuel (and his wife). Their granddaughter has just been accepted into Melbourne University, and they were thrilled by our visit. Like all our hosts, we exchanged gifts of friendship – and our presents of a wooden painted boomerang, calendar, photographic book of Melbourne and some material on MUCS were well received. As we left we were shown the tomb of Rupert Mayer, in the centre of the lower church which featured larger than life sized coloured marble depictions of the Stations of the Cross.



We then headed on foot to the Odeonsplatz, for a formal photograph between the great Lions of Bavaria that look over the Square. On one side stands the striking yellow Church of St Kajetan, known locally as the Theatinerkirche, and on the other the Grand Rezidenz (Munich’s Royal Palace).



We then rugged up and headed off to explore the city independently for a bit before enjoying a hot meal and coffee to prepare us for a cold and stark afternoon in the former Concentration Camp at Dachau. Dachau is actually a picturesque village about 45 mins drive from Munich, and there is virtually nothing to indicate that a compound so tragic and horrific could possibly exist. We walked along the grey gravel road, covered in snow and ice and guarded now only by Silver Birch and Poplar trees. At Dachau, after entering the famous iron gates, we were all reflective as we contemplated the tragedies of WWII, and saw for ourselves just how horrific the concentration camp must have been. The place had an eerie atmosphere, and it seemed colder there than anywhere we have yet been. The buildings that remain are all grey and green, and almost blend into the dull grey gravel that covers the vast recreation area. There is no signage outside, and although many of the buildings and equipment ha now been removed, there are still remnants of the barbed wire and fortified guard towers and defense systems that were once completely surrounding the camp. The gas chambers, crematoriums and dormatories are all now represented by just a few buildings, but nonetheless they give the visitor a clear idea of what it must have been like. An excellent museum depicts some aspects of camp life and conditions in detail, and whilst confronting and emotionally difficult for some, it was a visit many of us felt was an important one. The trip back to Munich on the bus was unusually quiet, and according to our German tour guide, this was not unusual.



Everyone had several hours to think about what we had seen that day, and like so many before us, it was hard to digest.



Our final evening in Germany would be spent in Bavaria, and fittingly we would celebrate good times, with a visit to the famous Hofbräuhaus for dinner, LOTS of beer and traditional Bavarian music, singing and dancing. The Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München (München) is a brewery in Munich, now owned by the state government. The Hof (court) comes from the brewery's history as a royal brewery in the Kingdom of Bavaria. Wilhelm V., Duke of Bavaria (1579 – 1597), had a thirsty and demanding royal household, which was dissatisfied with the beer brewed in Munich. As a result, beer had to be imported to Munich from the city of Einbeck in Lower Saxony. Wilhelm ordered his royal court to come up with a way to reconcile cost and pleasure. On September 27, 1589, the chamberlains and council members approached him with an idea: why not build their own brewery? Wilhelm welcomed the plan with open arms. As a matter of fact, that same day, he recruited the master brewer of the Geisenfeld Monastery to be the planner, developer and the first “brown” Hofbräuhaus’ master brewer, which went into operation at the “Alter Hof” ( Old Court ) in 1592. It was called the “brown” Hofbräuhaus as only brown ale was brewed there.



Today it is famous the world over, and we enjoyed the colour and atmosphere in the Festival Hall, where we were treated to a Bavarian Feast, as well as folk music played by the Band, folk singing, yodeling and slap dancing! We all got into the mood and joined in the drinking song despite not really knowing the words! Many beers were consumed (the standard size of beer there is one litre!!), and by the end of the night everyone was up dancing and having lots of fun. A few of us then ventured downstairs to the historic beer hall on the first floor of the building, which is considered the heart of the Hofbräuhaus. Here, where Hofbräuhaus beer was once brewed, underneath the cross vaults around 1,500 guests can sit at tables, some of which have been here since 1897 as testified by the many initials, names and comments engraved on them. It’s a tradition to leave your mark, so MUCS did so… thus joining many thousands of student groups who have done so before us.

By now a few of us were starting to look a little the worse for wear, but we were still in party mode, so kept going until we were kicked out! A short walk around the corner and we found a cosy little bar where the last few brave souls finished off the night with some French Champagne and cocktails before hailing a small fleet of taxis and making our way back to the Hotel for a much needed few hours of sleep and lots of water!!!

Andrew Wailes