Munich's Old Town Districts

Tours for the curious and Munich lovers who want to know more... No matter which district you choose - here you will discover history and stories in every corner

Houses, names and other stories

If you are walking along the Altstadtring in Munich, you will see the signs for the four Munich old town districts : the Kreuzviertel , the Hackenviertel and Angerviertel and then also Graggenau . But what do these districts have to do with the history of Munich, where exactly are they and what do their strange names mean?

We will take you on a walk back to the origins of this city, we will "turn over a few more stones for you". We will often make a stop in each district for you, because almost every house in Munich's old town deserves to tell its own story.

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4 x quarter = Old Town Munich

You now have the “embarrassment of choice” as to which district you would like to explore, because the four districts could hardly be more different and at the same time more individual.

If you stand at the Mariensäule column on Munich's Marienplatz, you have reached the centre of medieval Munich. This is where the historic main trade routes cross from east to west and from north to south. And it is precisely these axes that divide Munich's old town into four parts within the old town ring, like a kind of "cake".

That is why each of the four old town tours begins here at the Marian Column in front of Munich's New Town Hall. These tours are a little more detailed, take a closer look at the history of houses and the families who lived in them, but also dare to take a look at the future wherever possible.

Four old town districts - one interface

The quarters are located in different directions from the Marian Column:

Southeast : the “Angerviertel” with Viktualienmarkt, Holy Spirit Church or Ohel Jakob Synagogue

Southwest : the “Hackenviertel” with Asamkirche or MUCA (Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art)

To the northwest, the “Kreuzviertel” with the Frauenkirche or the opulent Promenadeplatz

Northeast : the “Graggenau” – since time immemorial the “royal quarter” with the Residence, the Old Court or the Hofbräuhaus

Each district has and tells its own story, which can be true and at the same time untrue, because “we don’t know anything for sure”.

All four tours deal with walls and gates, with whores and executioners, with monasteries and breweries, markets and fairs with craftsmen and rulers – a journey into a completely different time.