Siegestor – atop the Bavarian monument with lions in all directions – marks the end of Ludwigstraße and the beginning of Munich's Schwabing district. When construction work began on the new avenue - named after his patron and king Ludwig I - in the mid-19th century, Schwabing remained a village. Fields and grasslands were scattered outside the fortified gate. The Arch Triumphal is the equivalent of the Feldherrnhalle monument located on the Odeonsplatz, both commissioned by the King and brought to life by architect Friedrich von Gärtner.

The gate's inspiration is based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome. As with Feldherrnhalle, Ludwig I also ordered the construction of Siegestor in honor of the Bavarian army during the Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. The inscription on the opposite side of Schwabing is a witness to this dedication, as are the images depicting battle scenes.

On the other hand, the inscription on the south side, added in 1945, reads: "Dem Sieg geweiht, von Krieg zersört, zum Frieden mahnend", which means "Reserved for victory, destroyed by war, hope want peace”. During World War II, the gate was badly damaged. In the face of the severe devastation caused by the War along with the guilt, the restoration efforts tried very hard to make no noise and turn the gate into a peace memorial.

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the lion of the four directions was restored and returned to its position at the top of the gate. Since the reign of Ludwig I, Munich has flourished northward. Behind Siegestor, cafes and shops began to appear on Schwabing's Leopoldstraße boulevard. On a visual axis stretching north from the Odeonsplatz square, modern buildings such as the Langenscheidt skyscraper 123 meters above Siegestor, located at the end of Ludwigstraße.

Location: 80802 Munich, Germany