Alter Hof

The Alter Hof stands as a complex of five wings in the heart of Munich, identified by the distinctive Gothic wooden bay window known as the Affenturm, or Monkey Tower. This site served as the first permanent imperial residence of the Wittelsbach dynasty, housing figures such as Louis the Bavarian, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in the fourteenth century. Excavations confirm that a fortress existed here as early as the twelfth century, predating the family's eventual move to the nearby Munich Residenz.