The Glockenspiel: Munich's Daily Little Drama

In the middle of Marienplatz, the tower of the New Town Hall puts on a show most tourists don't expect: bells ringing, and 32 bronze figures acting out scenes from Munich's past.
The performance plays out on two levels. Up top, knights joust on horseback, reenacting a royal wedding from 1568. Below them, coopers dance with barrels — a nod to a tradition from the 1500s, when barrel makers danced through the streets to reassure people the plague had passed and it was safe to go outside again. The whole thing has been running since 1908, and it still draws a crowd every single day.Read more