"The Church of Our Lady"
Officially known as the Dom zu unserer lieben Frau, this monument is located just east of Marienplatz. Duke Sigismund laid the original foundation in stone in the cathedral in 1468. The massive church was constructed in only 20 years. By law, no new building is allowed to obstruct the view of the cathedral.
The church was originally designed as a late Gothic church containing a long central nave. At the end of the 17th century, the interior was decorated with Baroque elements. In the 19th century, after the church was promoted to the status of cathedral, all the Baroque elements were removed because Gothic was considered as the only pure church style at the time. Sadly, the building was severely damaged at the end of the Second World War, when the roof partially collapsed as a result of an allied bombardment. After the war the cathedral was restored in several phases; the first phase was completed in 1953 but it would take until 1994 before the church was fully restored.
"Footprint of the Devil"
The notorious "footprint of the devil" is located inside the church. According to a legend, the architect of the Frauenkirche, Jörg von Halsbach, promised the devil you could not see a window from the inside of the church. In return, the devil would help him build the Frauenkirche. After he completed the building, the architect led the devil to the middle of the church from where you could not see a single window, although all churchgoers would sit in an area where a lot of light came through the windows. The devil would have stamped his foot with so much rage that his footprint was visible in the stone floor. The footprint is still clearly visible today.
References:
"Frauenkirche." , Munich. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2013.
Photo References:
http://www.eugene.be/europe.html
http://gyshough.blogspot.com/2010/09/munich-devil-wears-size-9-and-freaky.html
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