Alter Hof

Alter Hof stands in Munich’s old town, where five wings gather around a former centre of imperial power. A castle occupied this site from the twelfth century. Under Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, the complex became an imperial residence in the thirteenth century. Those wings are Burgstock, Zwingerstock, Lorenzistock, Pfisterstock and Brunnenstock.

As Munich expanded and security concerns grew, the new fortress Neuveste shifted this complex toward administrative work. The St. Lorenz Chapel disappeared in the nineteenth century. World War II caused destruction, yet late Gothic western wings, including Burgstock and Zwingerstock, survive after reconstruction. The surviving complex houses Infopoint Museen & Schlösser in Bayern.

The basement presents Münchner Kaiserburg, a multimedia journey through Munich’s past. Shops and restaurants surround the surviving western wings. Legend says a monkey carried Duke Ludwig’s son from his cradle to the tower, giving the oriel window its name. The tower itself was built later than the tale.