Tour of Bavaria Filmstadt  Hollywood, Bavarian-style

More than a century of filmmaking history can be found in the south of Munich, with Hollywood stars, German movie classics and TV history all leaving their mark here. But rather than merely resting on their laurels, people here are dreaming of a return to the glory days.

Wouldn’t it be great if Germany were to make more blockbusters and hit series? For years, the German film industry has made a pretty mediocre showing, but this hasn’t always been the case. And indeed things could change soon – in Munich’s Grünwald district. Nowhere else are the past and future of filmmaking so tangibly present as they are here. Groups of visitors bustle along the streets outside, while films and series are being shot inside. Even featuring their own tram stop, Bavaria Filmstadt cover an area the size of an entire city neighbourhood, complete with cafés, canteens, kiosks and cinemas. Of course, not all are real-life businesses – some are just part of a film set.

1,000 Square Meters of Clothing for Film and Television

The costume rental service is certainly not only for show, however; it is open for business with well over 100,000 items of clothing available to rent in its collection. Eva Scherrer knows every crease, every seam. “Sorry about the mess,” she says, though everything seems very organised. On 1,000 square metres spread across two floors stand rows and rows of roughly 3.60 metre-high wardrobes, all crammed to bursting. The coat hangers at the top can only be reached by ladder. Eva, who has worked here for over 30 years and now runs the film and theatre equipment department, says it takes a good two years to get to know your way round here.

Among Samurai outfits and police uniforms, not to mention tattered coats that have been used as costumes for the homeless or wartime returnees in films and TV productions, it’s almost as if Eva were studying the archaeology or indeed the future of German film. “I never have to think about how to get through the day,” she explains, saying that her phone rings off the hook. Talking about the modern age of film, she says it’s all about the “to-go approach”: productions that call her up in the morning and need 150 costumes delivered by lunchtime. “Sometimes your jaw drops a bit at first, but we do our best to get the job done.” The coat hangers here chart the history of German and film fashion. Renting a t-shirt costs six euros – a suit more than a hundred. Weekly discounts are available, and cleaning is included in the price. Eva knows every item of clothing. Most have barcodes, while others tell their stories only in their creases. She removes one dress from the wardrobe with particular care. “This here,” she says, “is from One, Two, Three by Billy Wilder, 1961.” In this classic movie, James Cagney plays a grumpy Coca-Cola manager in the divided city of Berlin – a reproduction of the Brandenburg Gate was even built here for the purpose, albeit somewhat smaller than the original and minus its famous quadriga. The dress was worn by Lilo Pulver and is one of the few garments not for rent. Though as Eva stresses, at least this is “not a museum”.

Hitchcock and the “Los Angeles of the Isar Valley”

Shooting takes place in the 12 studios, which of course are just walking distance from Eva’s workplace. The whole site feels like a walk-in film museum. It has evolved organically for over a century, layer upon layer: founded in 1919, it teetered its way through the Weimar Republic, was abused by the Nazis and taken over by the Americans after 1945, and eventually returned into German hands. It is a microcosm that reflects the different eras it has witnessed. Like the costume department, the film set is a living organism in a constant state of flux. So let’s get outside and take a look first at the northern section of Metropolitan Street, where entire blocks have been recreated. Originally built for the TV series “Löwengrube” in 1986, even tram lines were laid here. FC Bayern Munich football stars recently came to the set to shoot an advert for the watchmaker Breitling.

From this vantage point you can see the outlines of Studio 1, a glass studio built in 1919. Back then good natural light was essential because powerful spotlights were not yet available. When the roof broke in 1928, it was rebuilt to exactly the same design, though this time without glass. In the early days the Bavaria Filmstadt were called Emelka, and moviemaking icons shot their first films here – such as the British director Alfred Hitchcock in the 1920s, when people talked about this being the “Los Angeles of the Isar Valley”. Big names in film such as Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Gregory Peck, Gene Kelly and Tony Curtis made movies in Grünwald in the 1950s. Rainer Werner Fassbinder followed in their footsteps in the 1970s, while Wolfgang Petersen made Das Boot here in the 1980s.

Walking Through “Das Boot”

Das Boot was more than just a war film. It marked a turning point – the moment when German cinema rejoined the top flight of moviemaking. The film tells the story of a German submarine crew during the Second World War: the atmosphere is claustrophobic, loud, damp with sweat. Fluctuating between fear, a sense of duty and sheer desperation, the men spend weeks confined underwater. This wartime drama was one of the most important productions for Bavaria Filmstadt – with a budget of 30 million deutschmarks, it was a huge risk that really paid off.

The submarine itself was constructed, welded and hammered into shape in a makeshift hall directly adjacent to Studio 1. “Things that start out as makeshift or temporary buildings often end up becoming permanent here,” laughs an employee. A grey steel tube lies between the hall and Studio 1 – a tour guide is just showing a family around this model of the submarine from the film. Roughly fifty metres long, the replica has come to epitomise German filmmaking ambition. Incidentally, the sets of Bully Herbig’s Manitou’s Canoe and Suck Me Shakespeer 3 are now exhibited in the hall where the submarine was originally built. While the sound of hammering used to reverberate around the hall, all that can be heard nowadays are the footsteps of groups of visitors. The film sets really draw in the crowds. Countless tours take place every day, with over 200,000 visitors in total per year. The next groups are already queuing up for their turn.

Fresh Funding to Bring Back the Shine

Grünwald is dreaming of a return to its glory days. That’s easier said than done, however, as Germany’s influence and appeal as a moviemaking location have been declining for years. While the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and indeed Spain are establishing themselves as more lucrative European settings, people here in Bavaria are hoping for a new approach to funding.

In late July 2025, the Bundestag – Germany’s parliament – decided to almost double the funding for the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) and the German Motion Picture Fund (GMPF) to 250 million euros from 2026. And this is money that production companies and directors could end up spending in Grünwald. So even if Bavaria Film might appear to be doing well with its activities for tourists and its many subsidiaries outside the film industry, everyone here would like to see a bit more moviemaking.

January 2026