Interior of Heilig-Geist-Kirche in Munich

(Church of the Holy Spirit; ) is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, southern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, originally belonging to the Hospice of the Holy Ghost (14th century).

History

It was remodelled in 1724–30 by (vaults, renovation of pillars); in the interior are

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

fresco Fresco ( 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 plaster, the painting become ...

es and stucco ornament by the Asam brothers. After the demolition of the hospice buildings in 1885, Franz Lšwel added three bays at the west end of the church and gave it a

Neo-Baroque Neo-Baroque may refer to: * Neo-Baroque music * Neo-Baroque painting, a painting style used by Christo Coetzee and others *Baroque Revival architecture * Neo-Baroque film *the Organ reform movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' ...

facade. The church suffered severe damage during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and its interior furnishings were largely destroyed; extensive rebuilding and restoration was carried out after the war in the 1950s. In the late 1960s, architect

Erwin Schleich Erwin Schleich (20 April 1925 – 13 August 1992) was a German architect, architectural conservator, and architectural historian known for his post-war reconstruction of buildings and monuments in Munich. Biography Erwin Schleich was born in M ...

replaced the church's simple white interiors from the 1950s renovation with recreations of its original frescoes and Rococo ornamentation.

Description

Of the original Gothic church, only the choir buttresses and the north wall of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

remain. The tower (1730) has a lantern dome of characteristic Munich type. The Neo-Baroque facade shows the use of elements borrowed from Viscardi's Trinity Church. The interior is aisled, with an

ambulatory The ambulatory ( 'walking place') is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th century but by the 13t ...

round the choir. The nave is barrel-vaulted, with small vaults over the windows. The aisles have

groined vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Lau ...

ing. Among several items of art-historical interest in the church are: in the portico, to left and right of the main entrance, parts of a bronze memorial made in 1608 by

Hans Krumpper Hans Krumpper (c.1570 – between 7 and 14 May 1634) was a German sculptor, plasterer, architect, and painter. He was an intendant of the arts who served the Bavarian dukes William V and Maximilian I. Krumpper was born in Weilheim in Oberb ...

for

Duke Ferdinand of Bavaria, Infante of Spain Prince Ludwig Ferdinand Maria Karl Heinrich Adalbert Franz Philipp Andreas Konstantin of Bavaria (22 October 1859 – 23 November 1949) was a member of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach and a General of Cavalry. Following his marriage to Infanta ...

; in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, the high altar by Nikolaus Stuber (1730), with an

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

by Ulrich Loth depicting ''The Effusion of the Holy Ghost'' (1661) and two flanking figures of angels by Johann Georg Greiff (1729); in the right aisle, a series of

wall painting A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

s (1725) by

Peter Jacob Horemans Peter Jacob Horemans or Peter Jakob Horemans (25 October 1700 – 3 August 1776) was a Flemish painter of genre scenes, portraits, conversation pieces, still lives and city views. After training in Antwerp he was active in Germany where he became ...

illustrating the ''Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit''; in the Kreuzkapelle, a late Gothic

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

(1510); and, midway along the left aisle, an altar with an allegedly miraculous image of the ''Hammerthaler Madonna'' (15th century).

References

External links

Photo spread of Heiliggeist Church / Church of the Holy Ghost
{{Authority control Heilig-Geist-Kirche Gothic architecture in Munich Baroque architecture in Munich Cultural heritage monuments in Munich

History

Description

See also

References

External links