Destination Munich > Attractions > The Old Town (North)

Original princely power point

The Alter Hof was Munich’s first royal residence and now renown for tall monkey tales.
It was built in 1255 by Ludwig the Stern, an early patriarch of the Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled Bavaria for 700 years. Ludwig the Bavarian was in charge from 1328 to 1347.

He ruled the whole Holy Roman Empire from here after he became Kaiser (Emperor) in 1328. The Wittelsbachs moved their powerbase to the nearby Residenz in 1474.

ROYAL COURT: The "Monkey Tower" is on the right. Photo by Gaspa

You can’t tour the Alter Hof – it’s been an administration building since the 1800s – but you can walk through the courtyard. In summer it’s a scene for open-air concerts and theatre performances.

Monkey business

On the southern side of the courtyard you’ll see a neo-gothic bay window known as the “Monkey Tower”. There are various stories about how it got its name, usually revolving around the baby Ludwig and an excitable primate.

One version says the monkey was a royal pet and saved the future Kaiser from a berzerker pig that stormed into the room. Another says the monkey kidnapped Ludwig and spirited him up into the window.

His nanny apparently had to talk and tempt the monkey down with bananas. How these tales came abut is anyone’s guess as the windows in question didn’t even exist in Ludwig’s time.