Herz-Jesu-Kirche, Munich

Herz-Jesu-Kirche is a Catholic church built as a glass enclosure around a separate wooden worship space. The building took shape from 1997 to 2000 under the direction of Allmann Sattler Wappner, and its Moderne design has made it one of Munich’s most visited churches. Look at the broad entrance façade: it is made from a grid of panels carrying patterns of pale nail shapes.

Together, these patterns spell out passages from the Passion according to John, while another glass layer creates a cross within the façade. The entire frontage can open like a vast pair of doors on major feast days. Through the transparent outer shell, the inner timber structure gives the room its warmth.

More than 2,000 upright wooden slats admit changing daylight, with the altar area receiving progressively stronger illumination. Between the glass shell and the wooden room, a walkway carries a Stations of the Cross by Matthias Wähner, using photographs from Jerusalem’s Via Dolorosa. Above the entrance, the organ is set into a concrete gallery.

Its pipes form a heart-shaped impression, and the instrument has 63 stops across three manuals and pedal. At the far end, a woven metal curtain lets the cross appear lighter or darker as the daylight shifts. The church was consecrated on 26 November 2000 by Cardinal Friedrich Wetter.