Architecture
Most important buildings dominating the square are on the east side the Karlstor, a gothic gate of the demolished medieval fortification and the rondell buildings on both sides next to the gate (constructed by Gabriel von Seidl 1899-1902). In front of the Karlstor, which was first documented in 1301 and called Neuhauser Tor until 1791, is during the summer period a big fountain. In winter an open-air ice rink is installed there. The most significant buildings on the opposite west side are the neo-baroque Justizpalast (Palace of Justice) and the Kaufhof, the first postwar department store of Munich (by Theo Pabst, 1950/1951).
The underground contains a large shopping center. Also between Stachus square and Marienplatz the main pedestrian area of the city (Neuhauser Strasse / Kaufinger Strasse) houses numerous shops and restaurants.
The Karlsplatz (Stachus) U-Bahn and S-Bahn station is located below the square. The Stachus also serves as a hub for the city's tramway system, with a four track tram station located on Altstadtring, the Old Town's orbital road system.
Read more about this topic: Karlsplatz (Stachus)
Famous quotes containing the word architecture:
“The two elements the traveler first captures in the big city are extrahuman architecture and furious rhythm. Geometry and anguish. At first glance, the rhythm may be confused with gaiety, but when you look more closely at the mechanism of social life and the painful slavery of both men and machines, you see that it is nothing but a kind of typical, empty anguish that makes even crime and gangs forgivable means of escape.”
—Federico García Lorca (1898–1936)
“They can do without architecture who have no olives nor wines in the cellar.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I don’t think of form as a kind of architecture. The architecture is the result of the forming. It is the kinesthetic and visual sense of position and wholeness that puts the thing into the realm of art.”
—Roy Lichtenstein (b. 1923)