Frauenplatz 1, Munich, Germany
Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady)
Munich's landmark cathedral, with its twin onion-domed towers visible across the city skyline, a massive late Gothic hall church that has served as the seat of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising since 1821.
The Frauenkirche is the defining building of Munich's skyline. Its twin brick towers, each capped with a copper onion dome that was added in 1525, are visible from across the Bavarian plain, and a city ordinance still prohibits any building in the center from rising higher than them. The church was built in just twenty years, from 1468 to 1488, an unusually fast construction for its size — the nave can hold twenty thousand people standing. The architect, Jörg von Halsbach, designed a hall church with a broad nave and two aisles of equal height, giving the interior an open, airy feel. The whitewashed walls and tall windows make the space brighter than you might expect from a Gothic church. Much of the original decoration was lost during the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, and the building suffered severe bomb damage in 1945. The reconstruction took until 1994. Today the interior is relatively plain compared to the Baroque churches nearby, which gives it a quiet dignity. The tomb of Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian, an elaborate Renaissance monument, stands in the nave. Near the entrance is the famous Teufelstritt — the Devil's Footprint — a mark in the floor tile that legend says was left by the devil when he realized the church had no visible windows from where he stood.
Diocese: Archdiocese of Munich and Freising
Style: Late Gothic (Hall Church)
What to See
Find the Teufelstritt near the entrance first — stand on the footprint and look toward the altar to see what the devil supposedly saw: from that angle, the tall columns block every window, making the church appear to have no light source at all. Step forward and the windows appear. The tomb of Ludwig the Bavarian is an impressive Renaissance work in dark marble. The south tower is open for climbing and offers one of the best views of Munich and, on clear days, the Alps. The overall effect of the nave — wide, white, and tall — is worth sitting with for a few minutes.
Pilgrim Notes
The Frauenkirche is in the center of Munich, a short walk from the Marienplatz. It is open daily and free to enter. The south tower has visiting hours and charges a small fee. Mass is offered regularly in German. Munich's other great churches — the Baroque Theatinerkirche, the Asamkirche, and St. Michael's — are all within a fifteen-minute walk. The Alte Pinakothek art museum, with its collection of Dürer and Rubens, is also nearby.