Frauenkirche

Lonely Planet review

The landmark Frauenkirche is Munich's spiritual heart and the 'Mt Everest' among its churches. No other building in the central city may stand taller than its onion-domed twin towers which reach a lofty 99m. From April to October, you can enjoy panoramic city views from the south tower.

Bombed to bits in WWII, the reconstruction is a soaring passage of light but otherwise fairly spartan. Of note is the epic cenotaph (empty tomb) of Ludwig the Bavarian just past the entrance and the bronze plaques of Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessor John Paul II affixed to nearby pillars.

Churches come with legends, and the Frauenkirche has a particularly good one. As you enter the foyer, linger for a moment at the hoofed footprint in the floor. When construction was finished, the devil stopped by to check it out, stopped in this very spot and started cracking up because the builder had apparently forgotten to put in any windows! He stomped his foot in triumph but he didn't have the last laugh. A few more steps and…oops, plenty of windows after all. Today, the trick no longer works perfectly because the high altar that used to conceal the choir window has been removed, but the hoofed outline (which looks more like that of a modern loafer) remains.