Frauenkirche, Munich

The Frauenkirche is Munich’s cathedral, a vast late-Gothic brick church designed by Jörg von Halspach. Construction began in 1468 and the building was consecrated in 1494; since 1821, it has served as the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. Its scale is striking: the building measures 109 metres in length and 40 metres in width, while the nave walls rise about 37 metres.

The pair of towers is almost equal in height, despite a persistent legend that one is exactly a metre taller: the north tower measures 98.57 metres and the south tower 98.45 metres. From the main entrance, the rows of pillars seem to form luminous walls, carrying the star-shaped vaults above. Near the entrance to the nave, look for the dark footprint-like mark set into a square floor slab.

As local legend has it, this is where the devil stood while mocking the church’s supposedly windowless interior. The building also preserves the important tomb monument of Louis the Bavarian, made by Hans Krumpper. What you see is both a working cathedral and a landmark whose restrained brick structure makes an enormous interior feel even more powerful.