Munich
Odeonsplatz is the square at the start of Ludwigstraße, in the centre of Munich. On the west side stands the Theatinerkirche, on the east side the Residenz.
A church to say thank you
Prince-Elector Ferdinand Maria and his wife Henriette Adelaide had the church built in the 1600s. The architects were Italian: Agostino Barelli, then Enrico Zuccalli.
The church was consecrated in 1675, still unfinished. The nave was completed in 1688 and the towers in 1690.
What to look at from outside
The Rococo façade was designed by François de Cuvilliés the Elder in 1765. His son finished it in 1768.
The two towers are 64 metres tall, with copper roofs. The statues on the façade are by the sculptor Roman Anton Boos.
Between 2014 and 2019 the church was restored and repainted.
The Italian square
The square takes its name from the Odeon, an old concert hall. Today it holds offices of the Bavarian government.
Beneath the church rest 49 members of the Wittelsbach family. Among them are Henriette Adelaide and Prince-Elector Max Emanuel.
On the south side of the square the pedestrian zone leads to the old town. On the north side Ludwigstraße begins, with the State Library and the university.
