Munich's Original True Crime Walking Tour Stalks the Altstadt
# Munich's Cobblestones Conceal Centuries of Murder and Mayhem
BlackBook Tours has been running The Original True Crime Walking Tour of Munich through the city's Altstadt since the tour's creation, guiding small groups past sites tied to some of Bavaria's darkest chapters — from medieval executions to 20th-century serial killers.
What to Expect
The tour assembles daily at 2:30 PM outside the front doors of Ludwig Beck department store at Marienplatz 11, a short climb up the stairs from Marienplatz U-Bahn and S-Bahn Exit C. Look for the guide holding the BlackBook Tours sign. The format is a small-group walking tour conducted entirely in English, and the operator explicitly notes it is not suitable for young children — a fair warning given the subject matter.
The route winds through Munich's historic core, pausing at locations where the city's violent past is still visible if you know where to look. Stops include Marienplatz itself, where the guide introduces crime stories spanning from the Dark Ages to the present day; the area around the Frauenkirche (Munich Cathedral), associated with the footsteps of the city's most infamous 20th-century serial killer; and Promenadeplatz 7, where a dedicated ten-minute stop draws attention to reminders of grisly crimes reaching back across centuries.
Over the course of the walk, the guide covers a remarkable — and genuinely disturbing — range of criminal history: medieval punishment and public executions, atrocities connected to the Nazi period, acts of terrorism, serial murder, kidnapping, and cases involving cannibalism. Munich presents itself to most tourists as a city of beer halls and baroque architecture. This tour argues, convincingly, that the same streets have witnessed horrors that never make the guidebooks.
