Wurmeck, the town hall dragon

Look up at the corner of the town hall. That winged dragon coiling around the turret is Munich’s Lindwurm, and for centuries this corner has been called the Wurmeck, “the worm’s corner”.

1The legend

Tradition has it that long ago a dragon emerged from the earth in the middle of the city, perhaps in this very corner of the market, and its poisonous breath spread the plague. Some brave men killed it, but people still did not dare leave their homes. Then the coopers, the Schäffler, went through the streets dancing and playing music to bring joy back to the city. The reliefs above the dragon tell the story: on the left, soldiers loading a cannon; in the centre, the monster and a collapsed townsman; on the right, the coopers’ dance.

2What the records say

The coopers’ dance is real, but it is first recorded in 1702, and the idea that it began with the plague of 1517 seems to date from the 19th century; it is not even clear that there was an epidemic in Munich that year. Since 1760 it has been danced every seven years at carnival time: the most recent was in 2026. The name of the corner is much older. A house called Wurmeck stood here from at least 1431, and in 1725 a dragon figure is described on it.

A clue: one branch of the Schönecker family, who owned the house, bore on its coat of arms a fabulous beast easily mistaken for a dragon.

The present dragon is made of embossed copper and was put in place when this part of the town hall was completed, in 1906.

3What to look for

• The copper dragon, wings spread, clinging to the turret.
• The three reliefs above it that tell the legend.
• The gargoyles high up, including a figure hiding a devilish creature under its cloak: the plague.