Ingolstadt – The Real City of Frankenstein

Ingolstadt – The Real City of Frankenstein

Hey guys, I’m here in Ingolstadt and maybe there’s a bell ringing.  Maybe 
you heard the name Ingolstadt before. Well Ingolstadt is the seat of the second 
big car company here in Bavaria, Audi. But those who are not car people, 
maybe you also heard Ingolstadt. And because Ingolstadt, well this 
is where Victor Frankenstein, „I have one question Dr. Frankenstein“ „That’s Frankensteen“ „I beg your pardon?“ „My 
name, it’s pronounced Frankensteen.“ no Frankenstein, studied – at 
least in the novel by Mary Shelley. And so I thought I come here and see if it’s a 
day trip for you, if there’s things to see here. Here I am at the new castle, new 
castle here in Ingolstadt and there’s the Bavarian military museum behind me. 
So okay, so let’s follow my „foodstabs“. „Whaaatt?“ „Following ins his grandfather’s foodstabs, foodstabs, 
foodstabs“ „aaaahhh, footsteps“ And see what’s inside and see what’s 
here to see in Ingolstadt and I hope you enjoyed the video and maybe 
Ingolstadt is a stop for you. Ingolstadt is located halfway between Munich 
and Nuremberg, just one hour north of Munich. Regional trains run there every hour. I would 
recommend buying a Bayern-Ticket for €32, which allows you to use public transport all 
day long. You will need this in Ingolstadt, as the main train station is 
located just outside the old town. Even from the air, you can see that 
Ingolstadt was once an important fortified town. The star-shaped fortress layout is 
still clearly visible today. More on that later. Ingolstadt was first mentioned in 
806 during the reign of Charlemagne. In the 15th century, the New Castle was built 
here to defend the city. Until the 16th century, it was a representative residence, after 
which it mainly served as an important city fortress. As far as we know, no mad 
professor ever experimented on corpses here. Since 1972, it has housed the Bavarian Military 
Museum, and you can now see what I found there. On the ground floor, there are numerous medieval 
pole weapons, a magnificent Gothic suit of armor, and this shield here. And as a Munich 
native, I immediately recognized the coat of arms. The shield bears the “Münchner 
Kindl”—the Munich city coat of arms. The real highlights of the museum 
are located on the next floor. This floor is dedicated to the 
forms of warfare from 1600 to 1815. The Thirty Years’ War plays an important role. Ingolstadt itself was an important center for 
the Catholic imperial troops and was the only Bavarian city that could not be taken despite 
being besieged by the Protestant Swedish King Gustavus Adolvus. At that time, the 
fortress was considered impregnable. Probably the most outstanding exhibit in 
the museum is the Grand Vizier’s tent. The Bavarian Elector Max Emanuel captured the sleeping tent of Grand Vizier Süleyman 
Paşa after the Battle of Mohács in 1678. The tent, made of wolf felt, is 
richly decorated with silk appliqués. The magnificent tent was not only added to the 
Wittelsbach collections as a trophy of victory, but also took on a representative role, being used 
at garden parties as early as the 17th century. It was also erected at the royal wedding in 1810 
between Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese, which later developed into the Oktoberfest. It can therefore be said that this tent 
is the first Oktoberfest tent. Of course, there are also exhibits from 
the Napoleonic Wars. Here is a British officer’s uniform, and not far away 
you can find its French counterpart. Many pictures also bear witness to the 
everyday life of soldiers in the field. On the top floor, there is an exhibition on the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and 
the period of peace until 1914. Unfortunately, my camera didn’t like the lighting 
in the museum here, so I’ll keep it short. The museum also has a large 
collection of tin soldiers. One outstanding model here was the 
Battle of Nations near Leipzig in 1813. With approximately 600,000 participants 
from around 20 nations, it was the largest battle in Europe before World War I and 
marked the end of Napoleon’s ambitions. How an officer could find his 
way around here is beyond me. I bought a combined ticket for the Bavarian Army 
Museum for €10. This also allowed me to visit the branches on the other side of the Danube. They 
are located in two fortresses. King Ludwig I had further expanded Ingolstadt’s fortresses after 
the Napoleonic Wars. After all, you never know whether the French or the Prussians might pay 
another visit. But no one came to “visit” again. The museum dedicated to the 
First World War is located in the right-hand fortress, the Reduit Tilly.
And I was really impressed by the museum. It begins with the situation that 
led to the First World War and the enthusiasm for war among parts of the German 
population at the beginning of the conflict. The important elements of the armed 
forces, such as the army, the navy, and the brand-new air force, are presented.
However, much of the exhibition also focuses on the everyday life of soldiers at the front.
A walk-in trench was also built for this purpose, but unfortunately I was unable to film 
it because it was too dark inside. There was also a special exhibition in 
the museum about the German mountain troops and the turbulent early years of 
the Weimar Republic after the World War. There was also a special exhibition 
in the museum about German mountain troops and the turbulent early years of 
the Weimar Republic after the World War. I didn’t film that, though, because I was 
afraid the video would end up being too long. My conclusion: I highly recommend the 
museum! There is one small downside, though: unfortunately, the display 
boards were all in German. But nowadays, with cell phones and translation programs, 
that shouldn’t be a problem anymore. Opposite, in the Trivia Tower, 
is the Bavarian Police Museum. Here you can see vehicles and uniforms 
from the imperial era to the present day. The role of the police during the 
Nazi era is also critically examined. I would have liked to see more focus on 
the continuity of personnel in the police force between the Nazi era and the early 
days of the Federal Republic of Germany. The break between the Third Reich and German 
democracy was a little too smooth for my liking, and I have already seen an exhibition on this very 
topic at the Munich Police Headquarters. So why not here too? But I’m getting political again…
In short: a nice little museum that you can visit with a combined ticket.
In any case, I got hungry and had a delicious duck with dumplings for lunch. 
And suddenly I came across Frankenstein again. After lunch, I took a look at the streets and 
alleys where Victor Frankenstein would have searched for his monster, had it existed.
The old town is characterized by old town houses from different eras, and in between you 
can catch glimpses of narrow medieval alleys. The Old Town Hall is very old on the one hand, 
because its core dates back to the 14th century, but on the other hand it is not that 
old, because its current appearance is a Neo-Renaissance building 
from the end of the 19th century. However, the Kreuztor gate, which 
is considered Ingolstadt’s landmark, is truly ancient. It has stood here 
more or less unchanged since 1385. Especially noteworthy is the Tilly House, where 
Count Johann of Tilly, one of the great names of the Thirty Years’ War, died in 1632 from 
injuries sustained at the Battle of Rain. Just behind the Tilly House is the Asam 
Church, or rather St. Maria de Victoria. It was also designed by the Asam brothers. 
If you’re not familiar with the name Asam, take a look at my video on Munich’s Asam Church. In any case, Egid Quirin Asam is considered 
the architect of the Baroque exterior façade, while his brother Cosmas Damian Asam 
designed the interior paintings, creating the world’s largest flat ceiling fresco. By the way, admission cost €5.
The fresco depicts the continents of Africa, America, Europe, and Asia in 
each corner. And I’m sorry, dear Aussies, but back then Australia was simply not yet 
known in Europe, which is why it’s missing. The optical effects in the ceiling fresco are also great. Here you can see the 
pyramid from the entrance portal, looking rather flat. And here you can see the 
same pyramid from the altar: quite pointed. Ludwig Maximilian University was 
founded here in Ingolstadt in 1472, making it Bavaria’s oldest university. After 
a brief stopover in Landshut from 1800, it was moved to Munich by King Ludwig I 
in 1826, where it remains to this day. One of the remnants of the university’s 
former presence is the Old Anatomy Building. Today, it houses the German 
Museum of Medical History. This is where Victor Frankenstein is said to 
have conducted his research and experiments. To protect yourselves from the monster, I think it would help to like the 
video and to subscribe to the channel. Admission to the Medical History Museum costs 
€6. Inside, you can see a wide variety of medical instruments that make you glad to be alive today.
I also found this anatomical crucifix from the early 18th century bizarre.
This iron lung was also really interesting. There was a special exhibition on human 
specimens that Frankenstein would probably have loved to get his hands on. But I didn’t find 
the brains of Hans Delbruck or Abby Normal there. But, In the museum, there is a room 
dedicated to Frankenstein. It covers the scientific background to Mary Shelley’s novel. Finally, I left the old town and took 
the bus to the north of Ingolstadt, where the Audi factory and 
the Audi Museum are located. Admission to the museum costs €5.
I’m not the biggest car fan, so please forgive me if I didn’t film a particular exhibit in detail.
It starts, of course, with classic cars from the Horch company. In 1909 August Horch wanted 
to start his own company, but he no longer had the naming rights to the Horch brand.
So he simply changed the name Horch – which means “listen” in German – to the Latin Audi, 
which is the imperative form of “listen!” At the museum, you can learn about 
the technology in the cars, of course. And you can see many Audis from throughout 
the company’s history. Military vehicles, as well as vehicles from more 
beautiful and peaceful times. But two exhibits really appealed to me personally, namely as a film geek. The car 
belonging to Iron Man Tony Stark. And even more so, the Audi that Will 
Smith drives in the film “I, Robot.” It was a long day for me in Ingolstadt. 
Victor Frankenstein never lived here, and Mary Shelley never visited Ingolstadt.
But should you visit Ingolstadt? Definitely yes! I won’t be offering a guided tour of Ingolstadt, 
as most of the sights are really the many museums. However, this makes Ingolstadt ideal for a day 
trip from Munich on changeable, rainy days. You can find links to all the 
museums in the description. And if you would like me to show you 
Munich or other cities in the Munich area, you can find my homepage and email address here. Until the next video
Philipp

In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein studies in Ingolstadt — and this Bavarian city still carries echoes of science, mystery, and history today.
But is Ingolstadt actually worth visiting? In this video, I take you along on a full day exploring fortresses, museums, medieval streets, baroque masterpieces, and yes… Frankenstein’s old “university”.

*Interested in a guided tour of Munich?*
I’m a Munich-based tour guide and would be happy to show you around.

https://aboutmunich.de/
E-mail: abudmunichen@gmx.de
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abudmunichen/
Bluesky: @abudmunichen.bsky.social

LINKS:

Bavarian Army Museum
https://armeemuseum.de/en/

Asam Church – St. Maria de Victoria

Maria de Victoria

German Museum of Medical History
https://www.dmm-ingolstadt.de/ihr-besuch.html

Audi Museum Ingolstadt
https://www.audi.de/audi-forum-ingolstadt/en/audi-museum-mobile/

0:00 Intro
1:29 Munich to Ingolstadt
1:54 Ingolstadt history
2:51 Bavarian Army Museum
5:30 World War I Museum
7:08 Bavarian Police Museum
7:53 Ingolstadts Old Town
9:02 Asam Church – St.Maria de Victoria
10:06 Frankenstein’s “University”
10:30 German Museum of Medical History
11:27 Audi Museum
12:41 Outro

#Munich #MunichTravel #MunichGuide #Ingolstadt