The Cathedral Church of Our Lady, or Der Dom zu Unserer Lieben Frau aka Frauenkirche, is Munich’s iconic late-Gothic church, features striking towers, a vast interior and notable art. The church also serves as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and seat of its Archbishop.
Cathedral Church of Our Lady, or Der Dom zu Unserer Lieben Frau
The towers of the Frauenkirche have been the landmark of the city of Munich for many centuries. However, their characteristic “catfish hoods” (Welschen Hauben) were not put on them until 36 years after the church was completed.
The Frauenkirche was constructed from red brick in the late Gothic style to save costs, and it was completed within only 20 years. The building is designed very plainly, without rich Gothic ornamentation and with its buttresses moved into and hidden in the interior. This, together with the two towers’ special design (battered upwards, etc.), makes the construction, mighty anyway, look even more enormous and gives it a near-modern appearance according to the principle of “less is more”.
The architecture
A typical sign of the Gothic style are the upward striving pillars inside the church. The white pillars and the light vault ribs, alongside the stained glass windows, create a bright and open impression.
On the second pair of pillars of the nave there are plaques dedicated to the persons of the two popes. The first commemorates the visit to the cathedral of Polish Pope John Paul II and the second is dedicated to Benedict XVI (Jozef Ratzinger), who was Archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982.
The Frauenkirche is a three-nave hall church, the largest in the world. The nave is 109 meters long, 40 meters wide and 37 meters high and can accommodate 20,000 people. These are voluminous, but appear quite slim because of their impressive height and the building’s height-to-width ratio. The arches were designed by Heinrich von Straubing.
Given that during its construction, Munich had a population of 13,000 which were served by the nearby parish of Alter Peter, this undertaking was rather ambitious given the financial difficulties. Catholic Mass is held regularly in the cathedral, which still serves as a parish church.
Interior decoration and art
The interior decoration of the church is simple compared to other Gothic buildings. The altar area is crowned by twelve reliefs from the life of the Mother of God and the exposed statue of Maria Immaculata. Paintings are limited to depictions of Mary with Child and Jesus as the Man of Sorrows with Wounds.
In addition, you can admire many differently decorated side chapels, altars, sculptures and epitaphs inside the cathedral, as well as an automaton clock from the 16th century.
A rich collection of 14th to 18th century artwork of notable artists like Peter Candid, Erasmus Grasser, Jan Polack, Hans Leinberger, Hans Krumpper and Ignaz Günther decorates the interior of the cathedral again since the last restoration.
The current organs were built in 1993–1994 by Georg Jann. The Great Organ (1994) on the west gallery has 95 stops (140 ranks, 7,165 pipes), which can be played from two four-manual general consoles (a tracker console behind the Rückpositiv division, and a second movable electric console on the lower choir gallery).
The Frauenkirche regularly gives organ concerts, has several choirs and its own cathedral singing school. The large main organ is one of four organs in the cathedral, made by the workshop of Georg Jann (Alkhofen near Regensburg). Cathedral music can be heard on Sundays and holidays and on special occasions.
Tomb for Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian
The extremely magnificent memorial for Emperor Ludwig (Wittelsbach) the Bavarian erected by Duke Maximilian in 1622 is hard to miss and richly decorated with bronze figures and symbols. A large imperial crown at the top of the ostentation commemorates the imperial dignity of Ludwig the Bavarian.
The bronze figures of the stately housing show Duke Wilhelm IV (1508-50) on the west side and Albrecht V (1550-79) on the east side. The four kneeling flag bearers were intended for a tomb of Duke Wilhelm V in the Michaelskirche, which was not erected.
The Cenotaph originally stood in a central place, in the choir of the Frauenkirche and was moved several times. It is intended to point out the imperial dignity of the Wittelsbachs and their deeds for the Catholic faith. Below the cathedral is the bishop’s crypt. Some members of the noble house of Wittelsbach, but also the archbishops of Munich and Freising are buried there.
The legend of the devil’s footprint
According to legend, the famous footprint in the entrance hall was made by the devil himself. He made a bet with the master builder for his soul, that there would be no windows in the church. Upon return to the aforementioned place, he could not see any windows at first, as they were covered by the columns. Out of joy at the supposed ignorance of the people, he stamped up and left his footprint in the ground.
Cathedral Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche)
Frauenplatz 1, 80331 München
Tel: +49892900820
Visited Aug 2023
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