Munich
The Frauenkirche is Munich Cathedral, the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. It is a great Gothic church from the 1400s, in the heart of the old town.
A church built in a hurry
In 1468 Duke Sigismund laid the first stone. The old church was pulled down in 1472.
The towers, without their tops, were finished in 1488. The church was consecrated in 1494, after about two decades of work.
What to look at from outside
The church is 109 metres long and 40 wide. Outside there are large, smooth red walls with almost no decoration.
There are five doorways: two on the north side, two on the south and the main one to the west.
The towers are almost 99 metres tall. No building in the old town is higher, so the towers can be seen from far away.
The great roof was put up before the vaults inside. In the same years the master builder was also building the Old Town Hall.
Inside, white columns
There are three aisles of almost the same height, with star-shaped vaults. The white columns have eight sides.
Above the altar there are twelve reliefs showing the life of Mary. The choir has wooden seats carved by Erasmus Grasser.
