Jesuitenkirche St. Michael - München, Germany
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N 48° 08.316 E 011° 34.221
32U E 691215 N 5334900
The Jesuitenkirche St. Michael is a Roman catholic church located at Neuhauser Straße 6 in Munich, Germany.
Waymark Code: WMXA5X
Location: Bayern, Germany
Date Posted: 12/15/2017
Views: 9
St Michael's is a Jesuit church in Munich, the largest Renaissance church north of the Alps. The style of the building had an enormous influence on Southern German early Baroque architecture.
The church was built by William V, Duke of Bavaria between 1583-97 as a spiritual center for the Counter Reformation. The foundation stone was laid in 1585.
The facade is impressive and contains standing statues of Duke Wilhelm and earlier rulers of the Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty, cast in bronze, in the form of a family tree. Hubert Gerhard's large bronze statue between the two entrances shows the Archangel Michael fighting for the Faith and killing the Evil in the shape of a humanoid demon.
The interior is a representation of the triumph of Roman Catholicism in Bavaria during the Counter-Reformation. The heavily indented chancel arch as well as the short side aisles and even the side chapels are designed as a triumphal arch to ancient model. A very deep choir room adjoins the mighty nave. The stucco decoration of the nave represents the life of Jesus Christ. The altarpiece "Annunciation" was created by Peter Candid (1587). The sculpture of the holy angel in the nave from Hubert Gerhard (1595) was originally intended for the tomb of William V, which was not completed.
Having suffered severe damage during the Second World War, the church was restored in 1946-48. Finally, between 1980 and 1983, the stucco-work was restored. The spire which lost its steepletop in World War II is situated further north next to the former convent.
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