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The towers
No building in Munich may be built taller than the Frauenkirche towers
The two towers stand at just over 98 metres, and a law passed in 2004 says no building within the city limits may be taller. The south tower is open to those who climb the stairs or take the elevator, and since its renovation in 2022 it offers a view of Munich and the nearby Alps.
Twenty years
The cathedral was built in 20 years, in brick, and the money ran out in 1479
Jörg von Halsbach built the cathedral in only 20 years from 1468. With no stone quarry nearby, brick was chosen. When the cash was exhausted in 1479, Pope Sixtus IV granted an indulgence. The church could house 20,000 standing people, in a late 15th-century Munich of only 13,000 inhabitants.
13,000Inhabitants of Munich in the late 15th century
Domes, not spires
Spires were planned like Cologne's, but the towers got domes in 1525
The original design called for pointed spires, much like Cologne Cathedral, but they were never built for lack of money. Rainwater kept penetrating the temporary roofing, so in 1525 the towers were finished with a cheaper design. A widespread legend says the towers differ by exactly one metre, but the north tower is 98.57 metres and the south tower 98.45, only 12 centimetres less.
The Devil's Footstep
A black footprint at the entrance is said to be where the devil stood
Just inside the entrance is a black mark like a footprint, the Teufelstritt, or Devil's Footstep. In one legend the devil made a deal to finance the church on condition that it had no windows, but the builder placed the columns so that the windows cannot be seen from the foyer. The devil, unable to enter the consecrated church, stamped his foot, and his fury is said to be the wind around the church.
After the war
The roof collapsed in the war, and restoration was finished in 1994
The cathedral suffered severe damage in the later stages of World War II. After Allied air raids the roof collapsed, one tower was badly damaged, and most of the irreplaceable artifacts inside were lost. Restoration began soon after the war, and its final stage was completed in 1994. The figures from Erasmus Grasser's choir stalls had been moved and kept.
Day 1, morning
It comes after Marienplatz. Then Viktualienmarkt.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Frauenkirche, Munich, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.