St. Michael's Church, Munich, Renaissance church in Altstadt-Lehel, Germany.
St. Michael's Church is a Jesuit church built between 1583 and 1597, with a facade of pale grey stone, three arched portals and a band inscribed "PRIMARIVS ET PATRONVS EIVSDEM ECCLESIAE". Its interior has a barrel vault over 20 metres wide, white piers with ornate capitals, dark wooden pews and two golden pulpits projecting from the side walls.
Duke Wilhelm V founded the church in 1583 as the spiritual centre of the Counter-Reformation in Bavaria; the foundation stone was laid in 1585. The first phase (1583–88) followed the Il Gesù model from Rome, with an unknown architect building a barrel vault spanning over 20 metres. After the tower collapsed in 1590, Friedrich Sustris added a new choir, transept and facade; the church was consecrated in 1597.
The church's interior was designed as a triumph of Roman Catholicism in Bavaria. The stucco decoration of the nave depicts the life of Jesus Christ, and the Annunciation altarpiece was made by Peter Candid in 1587. The bronze statue of the archangel Michael by Hubert Gerhard (1595) was originally intended for the tomb of Wilhelm V but was never finished.
The church sits on Neuhauser Street in the old town center, halfway between Karlsplatz and Marienplatz, making it easy to reach by foot. You can visit during worship services or outside those times to see the interior without interruption.
A royal crypt lies beneath the church floor, holding the remains of important members of the Bavarian royal family. Among them rests King Ludwig II, known for building Neuschwanstein Castle and commissioning other grand palaces.
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