Michaelskirche

COUNTER OFFENSIVE: The church was built in response to the Reformation. Photo by Gaspa

MICHAELSKIRCHE: What’s not there in this Jesuit church is what makes it remarkable.
The Church of St Michael is topped with a wide barrel-vaulted ceiling that holds up alright despite its lack of supporting columns. The only ceiling of its kind that’s bigger is at Rome’s St Peter’s Cathedral.

The church's crypt is the final resting place of Bavaria’s fairy-tale king Ludwig II and other ruling Wittelsbachs, as well as the son of Napoleon’s wife Josephine.
The church was built 1583 to 1588 by Duke Wilhelm V as part of the Counter Reformation movement.

This was a Catholic-led effort to battle the wave of descent started by Marin Luther.
He’d declared the Catholic Church rotten to the core and paved the way for the creation of the Lutheran and Protestant churches.
There’s a statue of archangel Michael battling the Devil (love the hoofed feet!) between the two entrance portals. Further up on the façade are more bronze statues.

AIR SUPPORT: There's a refreshing lack of interior columns.

The details

Location: Kaufingerstrasse 52
Phone: 089 2 31 70 60
Open: Open daily from 7am to 7pm. The crypt Monday to Friday 9am to 1pm and 3pm to 4.30pm, Saturday 10am to 3pm.
Directions: Take any S-Bahn or U-Bahn 3 or 6 to Marienplatz. It's a 10min walk west through the pedestrian zone.

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