The Heilig-Geist-Kirche (Church of the Holy Spirit) is a fourteenth-century church originally built in Gothic style. The church boasts a magnificent interior decorated with sculptures, paintings, stucco and frescoes.
The Heilig-Geist-Kirche is one of the oldest churches in Munich. Its history goes back to the thirteenth century, when a hospice and a Romanesque chapel stood here. After they were destroyed by fire in 1327 a new hospice was built and the chapel was replaced with a Gothic church. In 1806 the hospice was torn down on the order of King Maximilian I to make room for the Viktualienmarkt.
Remodelings
The church’s present appearance is the result of a series of remodelings in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A first restyling of the exterior was done by Johann Georg Ettenhofer in 1724-1730, while the interior was redecorated in a lavish Baroque style by the Asam Brothers (best known for their sumptuous Asam Church) who added ceiling frescoes and stucco. The church was expanded at the end of the nineteenth century by Franz Löwel, who designed the front facade in a Neo-Baroque style.
Interior
The interior is a fine example of Gothic architecture, decorated with magnificent frescoes and stucco work in Baroque and Rococo. The ceiling frescoes in the choir show scenes that tell the story of the founding of the hospice that stood at this site, while ceiling frescoes in the nave depict the spiritual gifts.
Also not to miss is the high altar, richly decorated with paintings and sculptures. It was originally created by Nikolaus Stuber and Antonio Matteo in 1730 and reconstructed after the war. Another altar, the Marienaltar, features a fifteenth-century wooden sculpture known as the Hammerthaler Madonna.