Odeonsplatz and the yellow Theatine church

Stand in front of the yellow façade. This square is the hinge between medieval Munich, behind you, and the city the kings laid out in the 19th century: Ludwigstraße runs dead straight to the north as far as the Siegestor arch. The square takes its name from the Odeon, the concert hall Klenze built on its north side.

1A promise kept

In 1659 Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, wife of Prince-Elector Ferdinand Maria, vowed to build “the most beautiful and precious church” if an heir was born. Max Emanuel arrived on 11 July 1662, and the following year the foundation stone was laid. The architects, Agostino Barelli and later Enrico Zuccalli, took as their model Sant’Andrea della Valle, the Theatines’ mother church in Rome: it was the first Italian Baroque church in Bavaria. It was consecrated in 1675, although the façade was not finished until a century later, to a Rococo design by François de Cuvilliés.

The towers are about 65 metres high and the dome about 70; at the top of the lantern, a lion serves as a weathervane.

Its crypt is one of the Wittelsbach burial places. The restoration completed in 2019 kept the ochre yellow of the façade, although its colour still gets people talking.

2On to the Hofgarten

Opposite, the arch of 1816, Klenze’s first work in Munich, leads into the Hofgarten, the court garden laid out from 1613 by Maximilian I. At its centre stands the Temple of Diana, completed in 1616, where music is often playing. Cross it diagonally: that is the way to the last stop.

3What to look for

• The scrolls beneath the tops of the towers, inspired by Venice.
• The statues of saints in the niches of the façade.
• The view down Ludwigstraße towards the Siegestor.