Munich’s Frauenkirche is not only the city’s landmark, but also one of the two largest hall churches in the world and one of the three largest brick churches north of the Alps. The newly renovated south tower has been open to visitors again for a few months now, allowing them to enjoy the magnificent view over the city. We tell you all about the history of the Frauendom, its architectural features and fun facts. Do you know who the footprint at the entrance to the church belongs to? Or do you know the difference between the two towers? Just read on.

Munich’s Frauenkirche is not only the city’s landmark, but also one of the two largest hall churches in the world and one of the three largest brick churches north of the Alps. The newly renovated south tower has been open to visitors again for a few months now, allowing them to enjoy the magnificent view over the city. We tell you all about the history of the Frauendom, its architectural features and fun facts. Do you know who the footprint at the entrance to the church belongs to? Or do you know the difference between the two towers? Just read on.

They tower far above the rooftops of the city: the two striking towers of Munich’s Frauenkirche, the city’s landmark. Since March 2022, the renovation work in the south tower has been completed and visitors can once again ascend to the tower room – via elevator and spiral staircase. From there, at a height of almost 99 meters, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the city and, in good weather, as far as the Alps.

Despite the many high windows, the 109-metre-long, 40-metre-wide and 37-metre-high nave looks like a monumental, flat brick building from the outside. This is due to the fact that the structural system has been completely relocated to the interior. The fact that the Frauenkirche is positioned on a surrounding stone plinth reinforces this impression. It has five portals. Two each on the north and south sides as well as the main portal in the west. In 1472, an old, much smaller church on the same site was demolished and the current late Gothic sacred building was erected in just 20 years. However, the towers of the Frauenkirche Munich were only completed around 1525 with the addition of the characteristic “Welsche Hauben”.

The legend of the “devil’s footstep”, which is interwoven with the building, shows what a new achievement the high windows were at the time. A footprint in the floor at the entrance to the church tells the story of the devil who made a bet with the cathedral’s master builder for his soul. The devil claimed that there was no window in the church. From where he was standing, he could not actually see any windows as they were covered by the columns. So he joyfully ascended from hell into the church, leaving the footprint behind. But now he could see the windows and felt deceived. Out of anger, he turned into wind and tried to destroy the church, but was unsuccessful. To this day, you can still feel a light breeze around the cathedral – perhaps the devil hasn’t given up yet?

The entrance hall is followed by the three naves. The hall church offers space for 2,000 people. The interior appears very light and airy thanks to the light-colored vault ribs and white pillars, together with the colorful windows. The simple furnishings make the room restrained and invite you to take it in. The church interior of Munich’s Frauenkirche can be viewed free of charge and is also accessible outside of church services. Twelve reliefs depicting the life of the Virgin Mary and the statue of Maria Immaculata adorn the altar area. The Wittelsbach monument, a magnificent case decorated with bronze figures with the imperial crown at the top, is hard to miss. Some of the Wittelsbachs, together with the archbishops of Munich and Freising, are buried in the crypt beneath the church. In addition to variously decorated side chapels, there is a 16th century automaton clock to discover.

By the way: one sacred building, many names

Most people only know the Munich landmark as the “Frauenkirche”. But there are more names:

• Frauenkirche Munich
• Munich Cathedral
• To Our Lady

The fact that the cathedral, which was completed in 1488, appears so plain today is thanks to a renovation in the 17th century. At that time, the entire interior of the church was painted white and no consideration was given to frescoes or colored facades. In addition, the Frauenkirche Munich was severely damaged during air raids between 1943 and 1945, the hall vault partially collapsed and parts of the interior were destroyed. However, the valuable stained glass windows from the 14th to 16th centuries were removed, saved and reinstalled after the end of the war.

In the course of a new artistic design in the 1990s, the Frauenkirche Munich was given its current color scheme, which probably corresponds to the first version of its Baumeister, Jörg von Halspach. During this work, all the original fixtures and art objects that had been removed from the church over the years were also brought back. As a result, visitors today will find objects from the last 500 years. Every church is also equipped with an organ – or four of them in the case of the Lady Cathedral. If you don’t want to attend church services but still want to enjoy them, you can listen to the organ concerts on Sundays and public holidays.

The fact that the Frauenkirche Munich is not only so beautiful from the inside, but also from the outside, is thanks in part to the State Building Authority. Since 2001, it has been regularly inspecting the façade to secure loose stone and thus protect visitors. However, the damage to the towers in particular became increasingly severe, which is why a repair concept had to be developed. And so, for a long time, the Frauentürme towers were only known to Munich residents with scaffolding. From spring to September 2009, a comprehensive inventory and damage mapping was carried out in the scaffolded north tower of the church, on the basis of which extensive renovation work was carried out until 2013. In spring 2014, the same process began for the south tower with the shield wall and the main portal.

The work, which was due to be completed by fall 2016, actually took until spring 2022, but since then the South Tower can be visited and climbed daily from 10 am to 5 pm, Sundays and public holidays from 11.30 am. Admission is 7.50 euros for adults and 5.50 euros for children aged seven and over. Tickets are available from the cathedral store. If you pay close attention during the tour, you can shine with the following facts. At 98.45 meters, the south tower of Munich’s Frauenkirche is around twelve centimeters lower than the north tower and houses seven bells in addition to the viewing platform. In contrast, there are only three bells in the north tower.

Whether from inside, from above or over a beer in the surrounding breweries. A visit to the Frauenkirche Munich is definitely part of any visit to Munich! More about Munich Cathedral here.

Other landmarks of the city are the Olympic Park Munich and the Allianz Arena Munich – how well do you know these two places? Read all about it here.

Composer Richard Wagner (1813 in Leipzig – 1883 in Venice) is said to have drafted his first melodies and sketches for “Lohengrin” at this desk. The piece of furniture is currently being restored in Andreas Scheuch’s workshop. Restauro was able to accompany the individual work steps on the Lohengrin desk. The Lohengrin desk originally stood in the Lohengrin House in Graupa, which is now part of the […]

Composer Richard Wagner (1813 in Leipzig – 1883 in Venice) is said to have drafted his first melodies and sketches for “Lohengrin” at this desk. The piece of furniture is currently being restored in Andreas Scheuch’s workshop. Restauro was able to accompany the individual work steps on the Lohengrin desk.

The Lohengrin desk originally stood in the Lohengrin House in Graupa, which is now part of the Richard Wagner Memorial. It was here that Wagner spent his vacation with his wife Minna from 1846 and drafted the composition sketches for the opera “Lohengrin”. In 1928, the desk was purchased by the former Wagner Memorial and moved to Bayreuth to the Wahnfried House, Wagner’s former home. It was run as the Richard Wagner Museum from 1976 until it was closed in 2010 for extensive renovation work. In August 2015, the work will be completed and Haus Wahnfried, adapted to modern standards, will be opened to visitors together with a new museum building and the burial place of Richard and Cosima Wagner on the site – as a new museum complex with the National Archive of the Richard Wagner Foundation.

Object sponsorships made it possible to restore a number of collection objects that had been in Haus Wahnfried for decades. The objects are assigned to different restorers, who carry out the conservation and restoration work and document it in detail. The restoration of “Wagner’s death sofa”, for example, has already been completed and the before and after states can be seen in pictures on the website. There will not be such a stark contrast with the Lohengrin desk, which is being worked on in Andreas Scheuch’s restoration workshop: “Above all, we are carrying out conservation work, leaving traces of use and ageing.”

Previous condition of the desk

The Biedermeier furniture is listed in the inventory as a mahogany desk. The supporting wood of the two-part piece of furniture (desk with top) is made of softwood, the drawers are made of maple with the exception of the fronts. The insides of the doors are veneered with stained and polished maple. The mahogany veneer has the veining typical of the Biedermeier period (“pyramid mahogany”). The small profile strips and half-round strips are largely made of solid mahogany. The writing desk has drawers that can be locked on both the left and right sides – ten in total – whose locks, keys and key bushes are of a high standard of craftsmanship and could therefore be locked securely. “An indication that the desk was made as a piece of storage furniture for important documents,” says Scheuch. The keys and some of the sockets are missing. The surfaces of the light-protected insides still give an indication of the original coloration and the degree of gloss of the hand-polished surfaces. The green writing surface on the original pull-out writing board shows heavy traces of use, ink, ink and presumably sealing wax.

Restoration steps

After documenting the previous condition and determining the restoration objectives, the furniture is cleaned dry and damp. Loosened solid wood parts and veneers are consolidated with glutinous hot glue, conspicuous flaws that distort the overall appearance are replaced with wood of the same type following the outbreak. The high-quality locks are cleaned and repaired by the metal restorer, and missing key bushes and fittings are reproduced. Fitting the missing and broken key bushes requires delicate craftsmanship. The existing surface is cleaned and any imperfections are carefully matched with a neutral retouch. Finally, the gloss level on the heavily thinned areas is adjusted with diluted shellac and the polishing pad. The aim here is to achieve a cohesive overall appearance while retaining the signs of wear and time. Originally, there were small balusters or moldings on the top of the top and on the sides of the writing tablet, which are now missing. Traces of the mounting are still present and have been left as such.

Path of the object

The inventory entry for the Lohengrin desk describes its journey to Bayreuth as follows: “Lohengrin desk Bi 1249, previous owner: Mrs. Ritter Gift from Heinrich Balles Kw. [purchase value] 16.6.1928”. “Würzburg” is noted on the back of the piece of furniture, but it is not clear where it definitely came from. What is certain is where the desk will go after its careful restoration: it will be returned to Bayreuth together with its historical traces and thus to the collection of the Richard Wagner Museum and National Archive and will be available for special exhibitions.