About the Munich Cathedral (Frauenkirche):
“Münchner Dom” (Munich Cathedral) is known as The Frauenkirche, The Church of Our Lady. The building you see today was was commissioned by Duke Sigismund and the people of Munich, and built in the 15th century. What is amazing is the construction took only 20 years…..at a time when many Cathedrals were not finished within the lifetimes of their builders. Because there was not a nearby stone quarry and for other financial reasons, brick was chosen as building material rather than stone.
The Frauenkirche has a very plain design, without rich Gothic ornamentation you find in many other churches here; however, 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. The Gothic nave, several of the Gothic stained-glass windows, some of them made for the previous church, and the tomb monument of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor are major attractions.
“The Devil’s Footstep”
An attraction that survived is the Teufelstritt, or Devil’s Footstep, at the entrance. In baroque times the high altar obscured the one window at the very end of the church, that visitors can see now when standing in the entrance hall. This is a black mark resembling a footprint, which according to legend was where the devil stood when he curiously regarded and ridiculed the ‘windowless’ church that Halsbach had built. Well, it’s just a fable of course, but interesting.
The Crypt of the Munich Cathedral (Frauenkirche):
The crypt contains the tombs of the Archbishops of Munich and Freising, many dukes, and among others, that of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, (reg. 1294–1347) and King Ludwig III, (reg. 1912–1918), who built “New Hohenschwangau Castle” (the name was changed to “Neuschwanstein” after the death of the king).
Click here for the official website of the Munich Cathedral (Frauenkirche)