Munich Churches: St. Peter's Church

St. Peter, usually called "Alter Peter" by everyone, is the oldest and most favourite cathedral of Munich and possibly the origin of Munich.
St. Peter's church was first built at the beginning of the 11th century at the place of an older wooden church on the "Petersbergl", a small elevation in the center of Munich between Marienplatz and Rindermarkt around which monks lived from the 8th century onwards. The real origin of St. Peter, however, is not clear - either the old church was replaced or extended.

In 1181, Otto I. of Wittelsbach ordered to enlarge this Romanesque church and it was consecrated by Bishop Otto of Freising. About 100 years later, the church was pulled down and a new, but not a larger church was built which was completed and consecrated by the bishop in 1294.
In a large fire at the beginning of the 14th century, St. Peter was destroyed to a large extent. It was rebuilt, but this time, the style was not Romanesque but Gothic. In 1630, it was decided to extend St. Peter. The east choir of Gothic style was pulled down and replaced by a large extension, this time Renaissance style.

The development of change and addition of other styles continued: In the 19th century, St. Peter was redesigned in the Rococo style, for example by the architect Johann Baptist Zimmermann.

Unfortunately, the church was seriously destroyed in the Second World War and had to be reconstructed, which took until the year 2000.

To reach the view platform of St. Peter at a height of 56 meters you have to walk about 300 steps. There is no escalator, but the effort is worth it. You will have a great view of Munich.