MEETING FACTS

Munich has the strongest economy of any German city and with the lowest unemployment rate of major German cities it is very prosperous. Seven out of the thirty companies listed in the German blue chip stock market index DAX are headquartered in Munich. This includes luxury car maker BMW, electrical engineering giant Siemens, chip producer Infineon, truck manufacturer MAN, industrial gas specialist Linde, the world's largest insurance company Allianz and the world's largest re-insurer Munich Re.

The Munich region is also a center for aerospace, biotechnology, software and service industries. It is home to the aircraft engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines, the aerospace and defense giant EADS (headquartered in both Munich and Paris), the injection molding machine manufacturer Krauss-Maffei, the camera and lighting manufacturer Arri, lighting giant Osram, as well as the German and/or European headquarters of many foreign companies like McDonald's, Microsoft and Intel.

The people of Munich do not like their city to be associated only as a city of beer and the Oktoberfest. And indeed, the Bavarian kings transformed Munich into a city of arts and science in the 19th century. Its outstanding position among other German cities may have faded a bit, due to Berlin becoming the German capital again in the 1990s, but Munich still remains Germany's number-one place for art, science and culture.

Munich is internationally known for its collection of ancient, classic and modern art, which can be found in numerous museums throughout the city. Munich's most renowned museums are located in the Kunstareal in Maxvorstadt including the Alte Pinakothek (European paintings from the 13th to 18th century), the Neue Pinakothek (European paintings from classicism to art nouveau), the Pinakothek der Moderne (modern art), Museum Brandhorst (modern art) and Glyptothek (ancient Greek and Roman sculptures).

Munich is home to Germany's most successful and most famous football club, FC Bayern München. The team has won the German championship a record 24 times and the German football cup a record 15 times. It has also won the UEFA Champions League / European Cup 5 times in 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001 and 2013. They also won the Fifa Club World cup in 2013. Munich's second football club of national importance is TSV 1860 München, which currently plays in the second league.