Just Some of the Beauty of Munich

Today after we visited the Deutsches Museum, we explored Marienplatz. This is the central square in Munich, or München as the Germans refer to it. Since we only arrived yesterday, this was our first chance to explore the city. There were lots of stores, including American favorites like Urban Outfitters, H&M, McDonald’s and, of course, GameStop. There was also a three-story store dedicated to the great FC Bayern Munich (the soccer team). There were also plenty of restaurants, and we had the pleasure of viewing a glockenspiel performance with puppets moving in the tower of the Neues Rathaus.

In my opinion, however, the shining glory of the Marienplatz is St. Michael Catholic Church. When I first came upon it, I had no idea what it was. There were fifteen statues on the front facade of the building. I figured that it was some type of church, because there was a statue of St. Michael the Archangel at towards the bottom. I was very curious of its interior, so I went in. I was immediately in awe; the inside was gorgeous. I saw a sign that thankfully had the word “Questions” in both German and English. I talked with the man there, and he informed me that St. Michael’s is, in fact, a Catholic Church. He also explained that the top statue on the front of the building is of Jesus, and the other statues are of early rulers of Bavaria. My favorite part of the church was the crucifix on the front of the church, because it is not your typical crucifix. It had Mary weeping at the foot of the cross. It looked to be sculpted out of wood, and it was an absolutely beautiful piece of art, just like all the other art pieces in the church. The whole building was a work of architectural genius, with its towering ceiling and swooping archways. The style of the building had an enormous influence on Southern German early Baroque architecture.