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.

The long-term restoration project for Eileen Gray’s Villa E-1027 on the Côte d’Azur was completed in summer 2021. Over the past six years, Claudia Devaux has overseen the extensive renovation of the building and restored it to its original condition from 1929. Restauro spoke to the Franco-German architect

The long-term restoration project for Eileen Gray’s Villa E-1027 on the Côte d’Azur was completed in summer 2021. Claudia Devaux has overseen the extensive renovation of the building over the past six years, restoring it to its original condition from 1929. Restauro spoke to the Franco-German architect

It looks like a stranded ship: Villa E-1027 on the Côte d’Azur in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, built on a steep slope with a view of the Principality of Monaco. The Anglo-Irish designer Eileen Gray (1878 – 1976) designed the house – she called it “my boat” – for herself and her young lover at the time, the Romanian architect and founder of the well-known avant-garde magazine “L’architecture vivante” Jean Badovici (1893 – 1956). Built between 1926 and 1929, the vacation home with its nautical flair is Eileen Gray’s first architectural work – and is now a legendary architectural icon. The small, long and narrow house, minimalist and highly functional, rests gently on slender supports in the terraced grounds between lemon trees and also has other characteristics of modern architecture: a flat roof, an L-shaped floor plan, light architecture and floor-to-ceiling windows that provide a magnificent view of the sea. When designing the floor plan, Eileen Gray attached great importance to open spaces that could be partitioned off as required.

Badovici dedicated a separate edition to the villa in his magazine (“E-1027 – Maison en Bord de Mer”). Today, the 1929 edition is not only a historical document, but was also of great importance in the renovation of the work of art. This rare edition fetches top prices at auctions. The cover was designed by Eileen Gray – it is one of her few typographic works.

A magazine as a source for the restoration of Eileen Gray’s Villa E-1027

The name of the now listed house is derived from the combination of the couple’s initials: E stands for Eileen, 10 for Jean – J is the tenth letter of the alphabet -, 2 for Badovici and 7 for Gray. However, shortly after the house was completed, the two creative minds parted ways. Gray moved out and Badovici stayed in the villa blanche, as the residents of the area called the white building. As only Badovici was registered in the land register, he also owned the minimalist residence. Le Corbusier, a friend of Badovici, was a frequent guest there. The architect spent many summers in Roquebrune and even lived in the Eileen Grays villa for long periods from 1937. He later built his own vacation home (Cabanon Le Corbusier) and five camping units on the adjoining land. At the invitation of Jean Badovici, he created two large murals in Villa E-2027 in April 1938. The following year, five more were added by his hand. And because Le Corbusier immortalized himself here with his abstract paintings, some of which were very colourful (and mostly erotic), the house was even attributed to him. Eileen Gray’s authorship has only been officially recognized since 2000.

There has also been much research into the division of labor between Gray and Badovici. However, experts now largely agree that the spiral staircase, the sliding and folding shutters and the supports under the house were inspired by Jean Badovici. Everything else was designed by Eileen Gray. The designer also created the entire interior design herself. After the death of Jean Badovici (1956), the house passed into the hands of various owners. The last owner was murdered under unexplained circumstances. Homeless people then occupied Villa E-1027 and Eileen Gray’s house fell into disrepair. “Once conceived as a complete work of art, over time it lost almost all of its furnishings and became an empty shell,” explains Claudia Devaux. The Franco-German architect specializes in the restoration of modern cultural buildings with her Paris-based firm DDA and has been in charge of the extensive renovation project for the past five years.

Decay and rescue

In 1999, the Conservatoire du Littoral acquired Villa E-1027, which then became French state property, the expert continues. The French authority for the protection of cultural assets commissioned the restoration in an initial phase. However, the restoration was slow to get underway. In a second step, the Conservatoire du Littoral called in Michael Likierman, a retired British-French businessman, for the restoration project: the former managing director of Habitat France had already successfully restored a historic house and garden in Menton. “The Cap Moderne association with its president Michael Likierman drove forward the renovation of Villa E-1027 and the adjacent Le Corbusier buildings from 2015. He expanded the international network and reorganized the existing working groups,” explains Claudia Devaux. “I was already part of the team back then, as I have a special qualification for modernist cultural buildings. In France, you need a special diploma to renovate listed buildings. After my studies in Lausanne, I completed the two-year postgraduate course ‘Architecte du Patrimoine’ at the École de Chaillot while working. In 2015, I restored the sun terrace, which had been damaged by the roots of a eucalyptus tree, among other things.”

Michael Likierman also founded the Association Cap Moderne – the ensemble including the Le Corbusier buildings now bears this name – and put together a scientific committee with a wide range of expertise. It ranged from architecture to tourism, reports the monument preservation expert. “Every decision was voted on by a majority.” The project ran for six months from October to April. During the summer months, all the houses remained open to visitors.

Innovative concrete refurbishment by installing cathodic corrosion protection

An interdisciplinary team of architects, structural engineers, building historians, geotechnical engineers and landscape architects carried out the restoration work on the extremely dilapidated building. The architects Renaud Barrès, an expert on Eileen Gray and 20th century furniture, Burkhardt Rukschcio – the Austrian has already renovated Adolf Loos buildings – and Arthur Rüegg, the Swiss expert on Le Corbusier, were brought in as specialists. The restoration work consisted primarily of repairing the structural damage, explains Claudia Devaux. The villa suffers from its location: its proximity to the sea. It is exposed to a difficult climate with storms, strong sunlight and a high salt content in the air. An important part of the restoration was therefore the extensive reinforcement and repair of the concrete, which had been badly damaged. The substance, which had been attacked by rust, was stabilized using a very special technique. “We carried out a relatively innovative concrete restoration by installing cathodic corrosion protection,” explains Claudia Devaux. “In this process, the reinforced concrete that is to be protected is subjected to electrolysis to prevent further corrosion.” A method that is used for bridges and dams and is very rare for historic buildings.

In addition to the restoration of the structure, the built-in and free-standing furnishings were restored in line with the original materials, as was the electrical system with the historic lamps.

Restoration of the interior

In general, the house was restored to its 1929 condition. “The aim was also to restore the remaining built-in cupboards and meticulously recreate the lost pieces of furniture,” emphasizes Claudia Devaux. This also included the reproduction of a desk made of nickel-plated steel tubes. It was set up in the office. This work was carried out by Burkhardt Rukschcio and Renaud Barrès on the basis of a single photograph from the National Museum in Dublin. The fixtures and fittings were made by craftsmen from France and Austria after studying plans and original photos. “It was important to us to get as close as possible to what Eileen Gray had imagined and completed,” explains Claudia Devaux. “A lot of things had been stolen or sold in the past. The house was practically disfigured. The original condition of 1929 could not be understood. To now find Villa E-1027 in this condition again – with all the furniture and the colors – is very special,” says Claudia Devaux happily. “Because the 1929 publication is printed in black and white. Even if there are now some objects that have been interpreted – such as the fabrics. The colors are derived from the few historical pieces of furniture or the walls. Overall, however, the concept is very well conveyed.”

In this project, the original color concept from 1929 was reconstructed. “We worked together with the Swiss chemist Katrin Trautwein from the paint manufacturer kt.Color,” reports project manager Claudia Devaux. “All the walls were examined. That was quite time-consuming. We used stratigraphy to find the original layer. However, this is not the first layer, but the paint layer that was published in Badovici’s 1929 publication. Eileen Gray experimented a lot on the building, so there were often several color versions under the layer shown in the publication. We then produced the colors – historically true to the binder and pigments that were used at the time.”

DDA Devaux & Devaux Architectes specializes in the field of cultural buildings, both in renovation and new construction. One focus is the restoration of modernist buildings. It was founded in Paris in 1998 by David Devaux, a graduate of the Ecole d’Architecture de Versailles. Claudia Devaux, a graduate of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and the École de Chaillot, joined the office in 2008 after working for five years in Berlin on modern heritage restoration projects – primarily at the Bauhaus in Dessau. DDA carries out restoration projects as well as renovating and modernizing old buildings by building in existing structures. The focus is on the precise analysis of the sites and their history in order to assess their potential with regard to contemporary challenges. Each individual project is thought through in its relationship to the existing natural and cultural conditions. www.dda-architectes.com

Read more in RESTAURO 2/2022.

The video gives you an insight into Eileen Gray’s Villa E-2027.