St. Peter's Church is a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
parish church in the inner city of
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, southern
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Its tower is commonly known as "Alter Peter"Old Peterand is emblematic of Munich. St Peter's is the oldest recorded parish church in Munich and presumably the originating point for the whole city.
History
Before the founding of Munich as a city in 1158, there had been a pre-
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
church on this site. Eighth-century monks lived around this church on a hill called Petersbergl. At the end of the 12th century, a new church in the
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n
Romanesque style was consecrated, and expanded in
Gothic style
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
shortly before the great fire in 1327, which destroyed the building.
After its reconstruction the church was dedicated anew in 1368. In the early 17th century the spire received its
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
steeple top and a new
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
was added.
The church was heavily damaged in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
during the Allied bombing of Munich.
The interior is dominated by the high altar to which
Erasmus Grasser
Erasmus Grasser (c. 1450 – c. 1515) was a leading master builder and sculptor in Munich in the early 16th century.
Biography
He developed in an animated and realistic style, furthering on the works of Nikolaus Gerhaert.
Grasser worked mainly i ...
contributed the figure of
Saint Peter
Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
. Among other masterpieces of all periods are five Gothic paintings by
Jan Polack
Jan Polack Johannes Po(l)lack (Hanns Polagk, Polegk), ( la, Ioannes Polonus) (between 1435 and 1450 – 1519) was a 15th-century painter.
From his nickname it is assumed that he might have been born and/or worked in Kraków. From the mid-1470s ...
and several altars by
Ignaz Günther
Ignaz Günther (22 November 1725 – 27 June 1775) was a German sculptor and Woodworking, woodcarver working in the Bavarian Rococo tradition.
He was born in Altmannstein, where he received his earliest training from his father, then studied in ...
. The ceiling
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
by
Johann Baptist Zimmermann
Johann Baptist Zimmermann (3 January 1680, Gaispoint — 2 March 1758, Munich) was a German painter and a prime stucco plasterer during the Baroque.
Zimmermann was born in Gaispoint, Wessobrunn. He and his brother Dominikus Zimmermann were ...
(1753–56) was restored in 1999–2000.
External links
*
360° View from the Tower of St Peter's ChurchSt Peter's Church - photos & infos(German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:St Peter's Church (Munich)
Baroque architecture in Munich
Gothic architecture in Munich
Tourist attractions in Munich
Roman Catholic churches in Munich
Cultural heritage monuments in Munich