St. Anna Damenstiftskirche, Baroque abbey church in Münchner Altstadt, Germany.
St. Anna Damenstiftskirche is a Baroque church in Munich's old town built between 1733 and 1735, featuring white and gold interior decoration throughout its spaces. The interior sustained damage during World War II but was carefully restored with its original black and white murals reconstructed.
A chapel existed on the site from 1440; it was replaced by a Gothic church consecrated in 1496. In 1733 Elector Charles Albert laid the cornerstone of the present late-Baroque church, designed by Johann Baptist Gunetzrhainer, and it was consecrated in 1735. The Asam brothers supplied the original frescoes, which were destroyed in 1944 and recreated in sepia tones after 1980.
The name recalls the Damenstift, a noble women's collegiate foundation set up in 1783 by Electress Maria Anna after the Salesian nuns left for Indersdorf. Since 1 September 2014 the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter has celebrated daily Mass here in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, entrusted by Cardinal Marx.
The church stands at Damenstiftstraße 1 in the Hackenviertel, near Altheimer Eck. It has been closed since spring 2021 because of serious structural defects, and a full restoration is estimated at around 900,000 euros in donations. Check locally before planning a visit; the affiliated worship community is served by the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter.
The church has been closed since spring 2021 because of serious structural defects, and a complete restoration is estimated to need around 900,000 euros in donations. The 1974 organ by Carl Schuster has 18 stops on two manuals and pedal, with mechanical action.
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