At the western end of Kaufingerstraße stood the “Beautiful Tower” until 1807, which owed its name to the magnificent facade painting. It is said that a goldsmith had his workshop next to the tower. One day he received a valuable piece of jewelery and was asked to copy it. The righteous craftsman set to work immediately, but when he returned to the workshop after a break, the precious jewels were gone. Strange. The door was locked, the window too small for a person to slip through. The client suspected fraud, dragged the goldsmith before the judge, who had no doubts about the man’s guilt and sentenced him to death. A few weeks after the execution, repair workers discovered a nest of jackdaws or magpies in the roof of the Beautiful Tower. Lo and behold: the jewelry lay in the nursery of the thieving birds. Since then, the ghost of the innocently executed man has been wandering the streets of Munich’s old town.
Is the story true? We don’t know for sure, but it’s definitely creepy and tragic in a pleasant way. Not least for this reason, it is one of Munich’s treasury of sagas and legends, which is why it is often mentioned on city tours. Of course, the Munich writer and publisher Martin Arz also knows the legend of the unfortunate goldsmith, and so it can be found in his recently published book “Altstadt & Lehel”.
The “beautiful tower” stood at the western end of Kaufingerstrasse until 1807.
(Photo: Archive Martin Arz)
It is a “travel guide for Munich residents,” as the subtitle reads, which Arz cautiously puts into perspective in the foreword: “Tourists, people with taste buds, and Zuagroaste can also use the book to explore the district.” And that’s true: Anyone who lets themselves be guided through the old town quarters or the Lehel by the maps printed on them will not only discover beautiful architecture or culturally significant places, but also learn about the history of these places, the events that took place there, the change over many centuries.
Arz is a reliable authority on the history of the city, which can be read in the Munich books that he has published to date. Born in Franconia, he has a lot of talents, he writes thrillers and non-fiction books, works as an artist, organizes exhibitions, acts as a guide on city safaris and runs the Hirschkäfer publishing house, which publishes excellent books. Apparently, Arz is one of those enviable people who God or whoever grants the privilege of having a 48-hour day.
As far as his old town travel guide is concerned, in addition to the obligatory view of the most important sights including smaller attractions, curiosities and insider tips, it also offers a knowledgeable chapter on the history of rafting on the Isar, a historical overview of the sunken world of the city streams and mills as well as a List of street names including their origin. Not everyone should be familiar with the background to the name Hotterstraße, for example. Arz knows: “Named after a citizen of Munich named Chot/Hot, who owned a garden here.” And how nice it would be if the Ledererbächl or the Pfisterbach still flowed through the old town, lively bubbling waters that, together with many other city streams, made medieval Munich into a little Bavarian Venice.
Arz has designed his travel guide in such a way that the reader and city flâneur can explore the quarters one after the other. There is the Hackenviertel, which Arz presents not only as the location of the spectacular Asamkirche or the Sendlinger Tor, but also as the home of institutions that have long since disappeared, such as the Nockherspital or the Ferienschule. The next stop would be the Angerviertel, whose culinary center is the Viktualienmarkt, which the author honors with a small historical outline.
But who would still know that not far from the market square was once the idyllic little Ertl Castle, into which the entrepreneur and technology pioneer Joseph Utzschneider moved around 1800? It was demolished, as was the opera house on Salvatorplatz in the Kreuzviertel, which Elector Ferdinand Maria had installed in an old granary in 1657. Arz also does not fail to draw his readers’ attention to gems such as the Bürgersaal church or the Brunnenbuberl, which are often overlooked next to hotspots such as St. Michael. In the Graggenau, on the other hand, it is essential to inspect the residence with its noble trappings.
Until 1960, Munich residents skated on the “Schachterleis” ice rink.
(Photo: Archive Martin Arz)
A walk through the Lehel, which was part of the Munich Burgfrieden in ancient times, is an undertaking in itself. Arz leads his followers to the Praterinsel, the St. Anna Church, the House of Art and of course the English Garden. There, too, there are interesting things to discover that are not in every travel guide: the Burgfriedenssäule from 1724, for example, which at the time marked the extent of the Munich city area. A side treat: the “Schachterleis” ice rink, where Munich residents skated until 1960.
A drawing shows poor people on the banks of the Isar trying to beg wood from the passing raftsmen.
(Photo: Archive Martin Arz)
The old Karlstor with the predecessor buildings of the Oberpollinger department store in 1857.
(Photo: Archive Martin Arz)
Last but not least, the excellent illustrations, especially the historical views, are impressive about Arz’ travel guide. Arz did not content himself with the usual, often published photos, but found images that are rarely seen. Impressive, for example, is a drawing showing poor people on the banks of the Isar trying to beg for wood from the raftsmen passing by. Also worth seeing: a view of the Maxburg, which was destroyed in World War II, around 1860, or the old Karlstor with the predecessor buildings of the Oberpollinger department store. And then of course the “beautiful tower”. But be careful: it’s haunted all around.
Martin Arz: Old Town & Lehel. Travel guide for Munich. Hirschkäfer-Verlag, 176 pages; 18.90 euros.