Frauenkirche

The Frauenkirche stands in Munich’s city centre as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. Built of red brick in the late Gothic style, it replaced a Romanesque church in the 15th century under Duke Sigismund and the people of Munich. The two towers, each just over 98 metres tall, were finished in 1488 after financial delays and later capped with domes that give the church its distinctive shape. The building is the largest hall church in the world by volume, enclosing about 200,000 cubic metres. After heavy bombing in the Second World War, a long restoration returned the interior to its Gothic appearance. Inside, a double row of 22 tall pillars divides the nave and aisles, creating a single lofty space. The church also holds notable works by artists such as Peter Candid, Erasmus Grasser and Ignaz Günther. Visitors enter beneath a black footprint known as the Devil’s Footstep, set into the floor at the nave entrance. The legend says the devil stood there when he mocked the church’s lack of windows, not knowing one was hidden behind the high altar. From the south tower, reached by stairs or lift, there is a wide view over Munich and the Alps. The plain brick walls and massive domes make the exterior as striking as the interior, where Gothic carvings and Baroque statues stand side by side.