Isartor is one of three, next to Karlstor and Sendlinger Stor, preserved Gothic city gates, which are the remains of the former fortifications of Munich.
It was named after the Isar River flowing nearby. It currently houses Valentin-Karlstadt-Musäum – a museum dedicated to the Bavarian comedian and actor Karl Valentin, who was called German Charlie Chaplin.
The gate’s history dates back to the fourteenth century, when King Ludwig IV of Bavaria commissioned the expansion of the city. The growing agglomeration required new protection in the form of defensive walls. Fortifications were built in the years 1285–1347. One of the important defensive elements was the Isartor gate, which was built in 1337.
On the central tower of Isartor there is a clock whose dials are their mirror images – on the east side the hands move normally, on the west in the opposite direction.
