Coat of arms of Munich

Large Coat: Argent, a city gate double-towered Gules the towers with spires barré dancetté Or and Sable, issuing from the battlements a demi-lion rampant crowned Or and standing in the portal a boy monk proper habited in a cowl Sable trimmed Or, his dexter hand in the act of benediction and his sinister hand holding a book Gules 11 June 1865:Royal Approval 24 December 1936:Ministerial Resolution 17 December 1957:City council ruling The coat of arms of Munich (Münchner Wappen) depicts a young monk dressed in black holding a red book.

[1] When the Munich town administration developed a constitution of its council, a seal was necessary for the purposes of asserting the authenticity of town-council documents.

The monk as a sole heraldic figure can be found on a seal dating from the year 1304, and on flags of the city since the middle of the 14th century.

[2] In the second half of the nineteenth century, local artists also supplemented the figure with items such as radishes, pretzels, laurel wreaths and foaming beer steins.

[2] The symbol diversely appears in numerous places such as on manhole covers, beer steins and the top of the tower of the town hall.

As an enlightened monarch, Max I. Joseph wanted the city's symbol to show its culture and at the same time dispel the stereotype of the "Mönchsbarbarei", or the barbarianism of the monks.

Deemed the Hauptstadt der Bewegung (Capital of the Movement), Munich was a significant place in terms of the Nazi ideology.

The city was home to the NSDAP headquarters, the Beer Hall Putsch and also saw the establishment of Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp.

At the same time, the city council set the resolution on the December 17, 1957 that the large one was no longer for official use but only for particular representative purposes.