Monday, February 9, 2009

Through the gates of Hell(es)

For one of Munich’s best known landmarks, the Isartor, it’s really quite difficult to understand how it stood in history. One thing that is clear is that the Isartor made up one of the main city gates, along with Sendlingertor and Karlstor, which were built in the 1300s. What I struggled to understand is how these gates were all connected. It appears there was a wall surrounding the Altstadt, but that is a bit unclear. The Isartor, seems to be one of the best preserved of the gates, consisting of the tall main tower with the gateway itself in front flanked by smaller towers on either side. The fresco, which was painted in 1835 depicts King Ludwig’s triumphal entry following his victory over Friedrich the Handsome of Austria. Of course, with everything in Munich – it suffered significant damage in WWII and was restored in 50-70s.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Isartor, Karlstor and Sendlinger Tor were all part of the second stage of fortification (2.Mauerring) from early 14th to late 18th century. For a map of medieval Munich see http://www.monacensis.de/tipps/allgemeines/Muenchen_im_Hochmittelalter/images/muenchen_karte.gif

(Isartor = Niederes Tor, Karlstor = Oberes Tor).

Troy said...

This is great. Gives a great view of how the midievel gates protected Munich at that time. Thanks for sharing.