From within the old city gate, Sendlinger Tor in Munich, it is said that the voice of the ghost is haunting its remains. If you listen carefully, it is said the laments of the man walled up inside of the gate lingers. 

As part of the old city wall around Munich, The Sendlinger Tor (translated: Sendling Gate) is a city gate at the southern extremity of the historic old town area of Munich. It served as a fortification for defence and is one of Munich’s three remaining gothic town gates. Separating the old city from the Isar suburb, it lies at the southern end of Sendlinger Strasse. 

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In addition to being a remnant of a medieval city, it is also said to be still housing a medieval ghost of a man that could perhaps still be inside the city walls.

Sendlinger Tor: It is first mentioned in 1319, but likely existed earlier. The gate and defensive structure, originally consisting only of the central tower characteristic of Munich’s city gates, was  expanded around 1420 with the addition of two flanking towers, necessitated by the completion of the outer city wall. In 1318, the Sendlinger Gate was also first documented as the starting point for the route to Italy .

The Walled up Thief of Munich 

In medieval times, absolute quiet reigned in Munich. No citizen was allowed to be outside after nightfall. This must have been in the early 1300s or onwards, when the second city wall which Sendlinger Tor was one of the four town gates was built. 

At that time, a wealthy patrician lived in the city. A money-grubbing man, he tirelessly plotted how he could increase his wealth even further. 

Access to the Sendlinger Tor via a footbridge, perhaps around 1775?

A band of robbers, eager to enter the city, discovered that this morally unstable man was a member of the city council. They bought him for an exorbitant amount of gold coins: he was to steal the key to the Sendlinger Gate and hand it over to the robbers, so that they could enter the city and rob the citizens.

So he stole the key to the Sendlinger Gate to join forces with a wicked fellow. The thief could enter the city at night and rob the citizens. He would then share the loot with the patrician. But the rich man was seen meeting with the bandit and reported to the magistrates. As punishment for his depravity, he was walled up alive in the Sendlinger Gate, the so-called Faust Tower. 

The Faust Tower: The Faust Tower between Sendlinger Tor and Heyturm was unique ; it stood on the inside of the wall as a small round tower with a stone conical roof, resting on a column. The date of construction of the small tower is unknown. It can already be seen on Jakob Sandtner’s model of Munich, but it is not mentioned by name until the 19th century.

The name Fausttürmchen (Little Fist Tower) derives from the finial that adorned the top of the conical roof. After severe weathering, its shape resembled a raised, clenched fist in the 19th century. It had a stone on top that looked like a fist. 

However, there is also a legend that the fist was intentionally placed there as a warning after the treacherous townsman was walled up alive. This stone glowed brightly between midnight and 1 a.m. whenever the executioner had put an innocent person to death. 

Even today, one can hear the patrician’s wailing and lamenting at night from the south tower of the Sendlinger Gate.” It is said that even today, if you press your ear against the stone wall at the Sendlinger Tor, you can still hear the traitor’s lamentations.

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References:

Gruselgeschichten aus München: An diesen 14 Orten soll es spuken 

Das Gespenst vom Alten Peter bringt die Pest | Abendzeitung München 

Fausttürmchen – Wikipedia