Au-Haidhausen

Au-Haidhausen is the 5th borough of the German city of Munich, Bavaria. It is formed by the Au and Haidhausen districts.

Au lies opposite the Altstadt of the city on the easterly plain tract of the Isar. Haidhausen is above Au on the Isar's uplands. Au-Haidhausen borders Bogenhausen to the north, Berg am Laim to the east, Obergiesing to the south, level with the flow of the Isar at Untergiesing, ending in the west at the river.

Au and Haidhausen used to be hostel areas for trade workers and day labourers previous to the Münchner Tor. Both formerly independent municipalities were incorporated on 1 October 1854 and developed into suburbs in the Gründerzeit. Many breweries were located on the high banks of the Isar, thus right on the edge of the terrace. These were good locations for deep natural water sources and beer cellars; for this reason, the name "Keller" (cellar) is still used to refer to the brewery-restaurants nearby. Near Rosenheimer Platz on Rosenheimer street stood the Bürgerbräukeller, the location of the first assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler. Today, one of the largest breweries in Munich can be found there: Paulaner, in Au. Nearby, the Gasteig marks the transition to the inner city, a cultural center which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, parts of the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, the Volkshochschule, Munich's municipal library and important events such as the Filmfest München and the Munich Biennale.

Even though the structural integrity of buildings in Au was heavily compromised during the Second World War and only a fifth of buildings dated before 1919 still stand, the historical townscape of Haidhausen remains largely intact. Of high constructional significance is the Franzosenviertel ("the French quarter"), so called because of given street names to locations of victory in battles of the German-French War. The existence of good condition housing lead to Haidhausen becoming the second largest area of redevelopment in the 1970s, alongside Schwanthalerhöhe. This property redevelopment and revaluation triggered by the upgrade of accommodation lead to not only restructuring of a suburb to the outskirts of the area, but also a change of image, thus putting Haidhausen in competition with Schwabing as a trendy area to live in Munich.

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Wikipedia