FORTEAN TRAVELLER
JAN BONDESON visits Munich’s mediæval Alter Hof and discovers an unlikely tale of a young Bavarian prince abducted by a mystery monkey
The Munich ‘Monkey Tower’
Regular readers of FT will recall that the old Illustrated Police News made something of a speciality of retelling distressing cases of animal kidnappings, in which hapless little children were abducted by dogs, pigs, donkeys or eagles (see FT346-347 in particular). In some alleged accounts of avian abductions, the victims were chosen from among the rich and powerful by the marauding birds: the crest of the Earls of Derby features an eagle stealing a baby away.
When recently visiting Munich, I had a week to see the sights, including the magnificent Residenz, Nymphenburg Palace and Neuschwanstein Castle. In central Munich is the first fortified residence of the reigning Wittelsbach family, now known as the Alter Hof. It was constructed between 1253 and 1255, and part of the building still stands today, housing a small museum about ancient Munich. It was here, in the 1280s, that an agonised cry was heard: “Help! Little Prince
Ludwig was just taken by a monkey! And it’s climbing up the high tower with him!”
The identity of Prince Ludwig is not in doubt: he must have been Ludwig (12821347), the son of Ludwig II, Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine. The identity of the monkey is more ambiguous. According to one account, it had escaped from the royal menagerie; according to another, it was a performing monkey belonging to the court jester. After stealing Prince Ludwig away from the royal crib, the animal bounded out through an open window, and climbed up the inner tower of the Alter Hof.
After the royal wet-nurse had made an outcry, the other court functionaries came rushing along. Some of them made efforts to persuade the monkey to climb down, but the frantic animal instead bounded up to the top of the tower, dangling Prince Ludwig about as it went higher and higher. Others spread mattresses and cushions near the tower, so that Ludwig would at least have a soft landing if the monkey dropped him. But in the end, the frantic courtiers managed to induce the animal to climb down the tower, and surrender Prince Ludwig to them.
After this very fortuitous escape, Prince Ludwig the Indestructible would go from strength to strength. He grew up to become a strong, powerful man, a skilful general and a ruthless politician. He inherited the title of Duke of Bavaria in due course, and took vigorous part in the many territorial disputes between the German states. In 1314, he was crowned King of the Romans; in 1327, he became King of Italy as well; the following year, he realised his greatest ambition in life when he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. He resided at the Alter Hof in
Munich from 1328 onwards, having spent much money to upgrade it. He married twice and had many children, who led successful and productive lives of their own. The Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian, as he was called, died of a stroke during a hunting expedition in 1347.
With time, the Bavarian rulers deserted the Alter Hof, and moved to a new palace, the Residenz. Since 1816, the Alter Hof has housed the Munich fiscal offices. The last king of Bavaria, Ludwig III, was evicted from the Residenz in 1919. During World War II, the US Air Force made determined efforts to flatten both the Alter Hof and the Residenz,
but the old Bavarian rulers had built their palaces sturdy and strong, and both could be repaired after the war. The Affenturm (Monkey Tower) of the Alter Hof remains intact today, although rationalist historians have found evidence that it was in fact constructed as late as 1460, more than a century after the demise of the Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian. The story of late 13th-century monkey-business is thus likely to be a modern invention, perhaps concocted by some students or tourist guides who thought it amusing to attach some notoriety to the narrow tower in the courtyard of the Alter Hof.
FURTHER INFORMATION www.muenchen.de/int/en/sights/ attractions/alter-hof.html
“Help! Little Prince Ludwig was just taken by a monkey!”