Munich Churches: Frauenkirche

The second largest tower of the city of Munich is the Frauenkirche, which is located in the center near the Marienplatz. With its height of 99m and its two towers with onion-shaped domes, it is the "Wahrzeichen" of Munich and dominates the city center together with the new Town Hall directly at the Marienplatz. In 2004, a provision was passed that no building may be constructed with a height of more than 100 meters in Munich.

It is possible to ascend the south tower of the Frauenkirche and have a great view of Munich again.

The buiding works of the Frauenkirche, which is a Catholic cathedral, started in 1468 and were completed in 1488. In 1525, the towers received their copper onion-shaped domes. Except for the domes, which are of Renaissance style, the Frauenkirche is of late Gothic style and was designed by the architect Jörg von Halspach in order to replace an older church.

In the Second World War, the Frauenkirche was seriously destroyed so that not much except for the skeleton structure remained. However, it was rebuilt within a short period.

Even if you don't want to attend a Catholic mass - masses are carried out regularly -, there is still quite a lot to see inside the Frauenkirche.

The exterior as well as the interior of the Frauenkirche are really simple but despite this, very impressive. There is a huge amount of octagonal pillars that support the structure. When you enter the cathedral, you will be overwhelmed by the simplicity of the building. In addition, you will not see a window except for the front one in the sanctuary because the other windows are hidden by the pillars.

In the entrance hall, there is a strange footprint on the floor - guess, from whom? Legend says that the devil once entered the cathedral and was so delighted that it had no windows and could not believe the stupidity of the architect, that he stamped the ground in glee - and left his footprint forever. People call the footprint the "devil's step".

You should also pay closer attention to the painting in the chapel behind the high altar - created by the painter Jan Polack in 1510 - that shows the Virgin protecting all human beings with her majestic cloak.

Other places of interest in the cathedral are the tomb of Emperor Ludwig IV. of Bavaria and quite a few chapels.