Ludwigskirche

Ludwigskirche (also known as ‘St Ludwig kirche‘), is Munich’s university church, made in wonderful Romanesque Revival architecture style.

The church was built from 1829-1844, according to plans by architect Friedrich von Gärtner, as commissioned by Bavarian King Ludwig I.

There are two towers highlighting the church’s Romanesque Revivalfacade…

…with the stylish church built to balance Ludwigstrasse, which has the beautiful Theatinerkirche on the other end of the street.

PHOTO: St Ludwig kirche, as seen from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität’s (uni-muenchen.de) main building, near Siegestor.

PHOTO: In the church facade, there are limestone statues by Ludwig von Schwanthaler, portraying Christ (in the middle) and four evangelists — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The church was designed as a three-nave Byzantine basilica, with its main geometric shape taken from the Cross of Tau.

St Ludwig kirche also represents German ‘Rundbogenstil’, which, in fact, had a worldwide impact on church architecture from 1840s-1860s.

The celebrated church was an inspiration to many subsequent church buildings in Europe, including Altlerchenfelder Pfarrkirche in Vienna.

St Ludwig kirche

Address: Ludwigstrasse 22, 80539 Munich, Germany
Official website: St-Ludwig-Muenchen.de

Of the many highlights inside the church, the altar frescoes are especially famous, as they are the world’s second largest of their kind.

These frescoes were painted by Peter von Cornelius, and of them, the most important one is the central altar fresco, ‘Judgment Day‘ (painted from 1836-1840), a 18.90 meter (62 ft) tall and 11.58 meter (38 ft) wide artwork.