Bürgersaalkirche, Munich

Bürgersaalkirche is a church with a remarkable arrangement: the worship space occupies the upper floor, while the lower level contains the former meeting hall and a congregation museum. Giovanni Antonio Viscardi designed the building, erected in 1709 and 1710 for the Marian Men’s Congregation devoted to the Annunciation. Its exterior is a Baroque façade painted red and white, divided into two storeys to reflect the interior.

A Madonna and Child occupies the niche above the entrance, while four obelisks crown the façade. Inside, the upper church has the feel of an ornate palace hall, with richly worked surfaces and painted architectural details. The altar relief, made by Andreas Faistenberger in 1710, presents the Annunciation and survived the destruction of the altar structure during the Second World War.

The lower church also preserves the grave of Rupert Mayer. The building began as a place for prayer and assembly rather than worship; the altar was consecrated on the thirteenth of May 1778, and the hall has served as a church since then. Look at the façade as a whole: its two-level design makes the building’s unusual vertical division immediately legible.