Frauenkirche in Munich Frauenkirche in Munich Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de CC BY-SA 3.0 de

The Churches of Munich: Frauenkirche

By  Saturday, 14.11.2015, 12:08    Tourist Sites

Dominating the Munich skyline and an international symbol of the city is Frauenkirche, or to give its full name, Dom zu Unserer Lieben Frau, "Cathedral of Our Dear Lady"in the centre of the city, just off Marienplatz. Munich is striking by the lack of high-level buildings, the result of planning restructions, leaving the two towers of Frauenkirche the most noticeable sight on the Munich skyline, and the views from the top are quite breathtaking - with the Alps in the distance. See Munich from the top of Frauenkirche with this drone flight.

The church's history dates back to the 15th century, when it took just 20 years to build. It has a capacity of 20,000, which is all the more strange when one considers that the population of the city was just 13,000 at the time. It was erected by Jörg von Halsbach, with work starting in 1468, and the two towers (the north tower is 12cm taller at 98.57m) were completed in 1488, with the cathedral being consecrated in 1494. Brick was used over stone partly for financial reasons, and partly due to the lack of availabilty of a nearby quarry. Take a tour inside Frauenkirche.

Frauenkirche suffered badly from bombing in World War II, but the church has been restored to its former glory. One popular tourist attraction at the church which survived was the so-called Devil's Footstep, or Teufelstritt, at the entrance to the building. Legend has it that the Devil stood at the entrance to the church mocking what he thought was a windowless construction.

Another version claims that the Devil made a deal with the builder to construct the church without windows. The building proceeded, but tricked the Devil by adding windows which could not be seen from the Devil's standing point. With the church already consecrated, the Devil could do nothing but stamp his foot furiously into the ground, hence the footprint today. The Devil then rushed outside and manigested its evil spirit in the wind which rages aroun the church. In yet one more version of the legend, the Devil forgot the wind in hi fury, and it will continue to blow until the day when he comes to collect it. True or not, Frauenkirche is an important symbol of Munich, and well worth a visit. See the Devil's footstep in the video below.

Rate this
Paul Bradbury

After 12 years living on the most gorgeous island in the world, Hvar in Dalmatia, I have begun to wonder if there is still life beyond its shores. Prior to discovering Paradise in 2002, I was a world traveller, living and working in Japan, Georgia, Somalia, Rwanda, Russia... and Munich.

After 95 countries and some 25 years have passed, the memories of my year in the hotel industry in the Bavarian capital (fired by the Sheraton for losing our pet snake, the first male chambermaid at Hotel Arabella, and a truly eye-watering introduction to five-star living in  my days as a bellboy in luxury Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten) are strong, and the call of Munich has been a constant theme over the last quarter century. 

And so here I am, answering the call some 25 years later. Twelve years of island living have changed me for sure, but also left me curious about life in a big city, and whether or not I could adapt to it after such an insular decade. 

I was surprised to see that for such a magnificent multi-cultural city, English-language blogs and regularly updated information are not that available. Static tourism information, such as that provided by the excellent tourist board website yes, but accounts of daily life delivered daily? Hard to find.

And so I have decided to take a break from my idyllic island and see if I could live in a city again. And what better way to try than to discover modern Munich in all its facets after so many years. It is a journey of discovery which I am relishing, and I hope the site proves to be of interest for Munich residents and its numerous visitors.

About Paul Bradbury

Author of Lebanese Nuns Don't Ski, Lavender, Dormice and a Donkey Named Mercedes and Hvar's first comprehensive guidebook, Hvar: An Insider's Guide to Croatia's Premier Island, as well as co-author of Split: An Insider's Guide with Mila Hvilshoj, I have lived in Dalmatia full time since 2003. In addition to running Total Munich, I also run Total Split (www.croatia-split.com), Total Hvar (www.total-hvar.com) and Total Inland Dalmatia (www.total-inland-dalmatia.com), as well as being an accredited Google News journalist for Digital Journal in Canada.

I also have various blogging clients, including the Central Dalmatia Tourist Board, European Coastal Airlines, Touristar TV and Andro Tomic Wines, and print clients include Qatar Airways inflight magazine, Out! magazine from New York, and Croatian Hotspots. 

In December 2014 I was delighted to receive the Marko Polo 2014 Award from FIJET Croatia (Federation of International Travel Writers and Journalists)  at a ceremony for the Croatian Journalists Society for the best international tourism promotion of Croatia. More here.

Ongoing writing projects:

A History of Hajduk Split, co-author with Frane Grgurevic - in 2015

Around the World in 80 Disasters - out in 2015

Total Hvar in the Media:

Interview of the Month, Croatian Embassy in Washington (May 2013)

Special Feature in Globus Magazine (May 2013)

Featured on Croatian TV show, More (2012) - watch the report here

Interviews in Slobodna Dalmacija, Dalmacijanews, Radio Split

I am available for writing services. Please contact me on [email protected] or visit my main writing website, www.bossandblogger.com 

Website: total-hvar.com Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
<< Expand >>
>> Collapse <<