Courthouse Residence

In what used to be the far Northeast corner of the Altstadt is the Alter Hof or Old court. That’s amusing today, as it’s only 200 meters from Marienplatz. But excavations show that the building, often referred as the castle, existed in the 12th century. The castle has had some high profile residents, including Louis IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, as well as Louis II, Duke of Bavaria. It was used as the royal residence until uprisings made it unsafe for the Wittlesbach family and they moved to the Residenz. From the 15th century on, the castle was only as a seat of several governmental departments. The castle has five wings and in addition to the government office, it also houses the nice restaurant and wine celler called Vinorant Alter Hof. It has even returned to its roots, in that several areas house luxury apartments as of the past few years. Because it’s generally pedestrianized, this square sometimes gets overlooked by tourists, who often end up over at the nearby Hofbrau house instead. But it’s definitely worth the visit.