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The famous City Gates are one of Munich’s most interesting sites, along with the BMW museum and the Olympic Park. Munich has four remaining city gates the Isartor (Isar Gate), the Karlstor (Karl's Gate), the Sendlinger Tor (Sendlinger Gate) and Siegestor (Victory Gate).

Karlstor was named after Karl Theodor, the elector of Bavaria, who took the brave decision to pull down the city wall in 1791, owing to the steadily growing population of Munich. If you visit Karlstor, you cannot miss the famous Karlsplatz, built by Karl Theodor, which is locally referred to as Stachus. Now, Karl’s gate has only two towers, as the central one had a very unfortunate fate – it was completely demolished in 1857, following an explosion of the gunpowder stored in the tower. Take a walk at Neuhauserstrasse to get to Marienplatz. Neuhauserstrasse is the main pedestrian zone in Munich with lots of shops and restaurants and it is usually very crowded and busy street.

Isartor is located westwards of Marienplatz, at the very end of the Tal Valley. You can reach Isartor walking along the Im Tal, which is the German expression for downhill street. The Gate’s central tower was erected back in 1337, while the smaller octagonal towers were built in the fifteenth century. The gate was named after the river of Isar, flowing through the city of Munich. If you have a closer look at Isartor’s façade, you will notice fragments of mural paintings, depicting the triumphant procession of Ludwig IV, who came victorious against the Austrians at Ampfing in 1322.

Sendlinger Tor represents the oldest of Munich’s city gates. Historians say that it was built back in 1318, to facilitate the trade between the province of Bavaria and Italy. The gate’s central tower was pulled down in 1808, and the two outer towers were connected with a single arch about a century later. If you take a walk in the Sendlinger tor, you will get to Marientplatz.

Siegestor, the gate of victory, was the newest of Munich’s city gates. Its construction was ordered by King Ludwig I of Bavaria and was carried out in the period 1843-1852. The gate was demolished by the bombings of Germany during World War II and restored in 1950.


Izartor - Isar Gate was built in the 14th century.

Izartor - Isar Gate

Siegestor- Victory Gate

Karlstor

Where is Karlstor: Karlsplatz
How to get to Karlstor: U-bahn and S-bahn U4,U5,S1-8: Karlsplatz

Where is Isartor: Isartorplatz
How to get to Isartor: S-bahn S1-8: Isartor

Where is Sendlinger Tor: Sendlinger-Tor-Platz
How to get to Sendlinger Tor: U-bahn U1,U2,U3,U6,U7: Sendlinger Tor

Where is Siegestor: Ludwigstrasse and Akademiestrasse
How to get to Siegestor: U-bahn U3,U6: Universität



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