World Cup 2006, Munich

Stachus or Karlsplatz - as it’s called officially - is a public transportation crossroads in the heart of Munich. Crowds arriving for the soccer World Cup 2006 in Germany at Munich central station are bound to take any S-Bahn going in the direction of Marienplatz, which inevitably passes the Karlsplatz station.
The underground trains U4 and U5 stop here as well. Above ground just about every tram serving Munich stops exactly at or near Karlsplatz/Stachus.

But this underground station also serves as an allegory of the indelible tracks western civilization has left on its fast forward stampede to ever better pastures. For there is not one exit which does not remind us of one or another towering symbol of were we’ve been and where we are rushing to:

Law - Justizpalast - Palace of Justice
Entertainment - The Mathäser Filmpalast - U.S. style cinemas
Fast Food - Mac Donald’s Fast Food Place
Finance - Bayerische Börse - Bavarian Stock Exchange

But no matter where unsuspecting passengers will exit to – what unites them all is that they inevitably will end up on footage captured by police-run security cameras, a measure decided on in the palace of justice, most likely.

The Stachus / Karlsplatz fountain above ground was designed and built just in time for the Olympic Games in 1972.

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U-Bahn +
Stachus +
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