The square was constructed with the erection of the
National Theatre Munich at its east side, which was opened in 1818. Opposite to its
Corinthian columns at the west side are middle-class houses. The north side is framed by the
Königsbau of the Munich Residence. King
Ludwig I of Bavaria instructed his architect
Leo von Klenze to build the King's tract in the south of his palace in the style of the
Florentine Palazzo Pitti. The facade of the
Residenz Theatre is situated between the Königsbau and the National Theatre. The south of Max-Joseph-Platz is dominated by the
Neo-Renaissance arcades of the former
Palais Toerring-Jettenbach, a rococo mansion which originates from 1747. The
Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence served as model for its columns. The monument
Max-Joseph Denkmal before the Königsbau was created in the middle of the square as a memorial for King
Maximilian Joseph by
Christian Daniel Rauch and carried out by Johann Baptist Stiglmaier. It was only revealed in 1835 since the king had rejected to be eternalized in sitting position. After
World War II a subterranean garage was constructed below the Max-Joseph-Platz, its gateway disturbs the neo-classical appearance of the square. == Sights ==