The Greatest Quadriptych
It’s called the “Cathedral of Schwabing”. This late 19th century building is a prime example of Rundbogenstil, the German round arch historic revival style which combines Byzantine, Renaissance and Romanesque architecture. St Ursula’s is a basilica in brick. A treasure house of ancient and contemporary ecclesiastical art, not least Spanish artist Pepe Vives’ mixed media on wood quadriptych Grabchristus (2020). The only guidebook is written in German by Sibylle Appuhn-Radtke so over to an online auto translation:
“In the 19th century, Schwabing experienced a rapid change from a village to a city. The village centre around the old St Ursula Church at the English Garden (today St Sylvester) expanded to the west and north. Industrial plants such as the Maffei machine factory partially replaced the previous agricultural economy, and workers moved to Schwabing. The barren fields and pastures west of today’s Leopoldstrasse became building land which was masterplanned with a road network. As the university and the art academy on the northern border of Munich became more important, the population rose in just a few decades from 1,667 (1885) to over 11,500 (1890). The boom led to Schwabing’s short term status as an ‘indirect city’ (1887 to 1890). It was then incorporated into Munich and became one of the most popular districts.”
“The small village church couldn’t keep up with the crowds. After calls for a new building had already been made in the 1860s, the initiative took shape in 1879: the Schwabing masterbuilder Josef Vasek drew the first plan for a new building on the site of the former St Nikolai Infirmary. When this was rejected by the Royal Building Authority, the young architecture professor August Thiersch was brought in to ‘improve’ it in 1880. The order marked the beginning of difficult planning that lasted more than a decade with different designs and submission. Only when Dr Peter Erlacher, Priest of St Ursula’s (1886 to 1920), acquired an undeveloped piece of land in 1888, was Thiersch able to design his building on Kaiserplatz: a north facing church with symmetrical annexes that were to be connected to the church by porticos. The Munich Planning Office under Theodor Fischer responded to these plans by laying out the north south route of Friedrichstrasse in such a way that it enabled a distant view of the façade if St Ursula’s. The church thus became a defining focal point for the new Schwabing.”
“The architect August Thiersch (1843 to 1917) came from well known family in Bavaria. His grandfather Fredrich had been President of the Academy of Sciences in Munich under King Ludwig I. The young August, who spent his last years of school in Munich, received a humanistic education based on classical ideals. After studying at the Polytechnic and Engineering Schools, the two forerunners of today’s Technical University of Munich, he initially worked as an engineer and then developed a particular interest in new construction techniques. He completed his architecture studies in 1872 while working as an assistant for the architect Gottfried von Neureuther.”
“Among Thiersch’s publications, his renowned Handbook of Architecture (1883) stands out. Following in the footsteps of architectural theorists of the 15th and 16th centuries, he searched for the foundations of harmony in architecture and found them in clear numerical relationships and formal analogies. His largest church building, St Ursula’s, is based on the 1:2 ratio. The church is a built model of Thiersch’s theory of proportions and is therefore of great importance for architectural theory at the transition to modernity. In this point it surpasses Thiersch’s other churches in Augsburg, Berchtesgaden, Eichstatt and Zürich.”
“At the laying of the foundation stone on 23 September 1894 a perspective was published showing Thiersch’s vision of the future Kaiserplatz. The church was planned as a triple aisled cross shaped basilica with a porch, crossing dome and freestanding tower. To the west and east were to be cubic two storey residential buildings connected to the church via open arcades. The proportions of these buildings were carefully determined according to Thiersch’s theory of proportions so that they should result in a harmonious ensemble. However the execution only partially corresponded to these plans: only the east annex building, the rectory was built; the western one fell victim to austerity measures. The long unused buildings site to the west was leased in 1959 and a student residence, Pater Rupert Mayer Home, was built on it. the open façade on the east side was changed to a closed corridor with individual rooms off it. As a result of these interventions, the open symmetrical and cheerful planned square suffered greatly. However the route emphasising the central axis and the bordering of the church square counteract this shortcoming.”
“Before the completion of the church construction (it was consecrated on 10 October 1897), two structural problems had to be overcome: the construction of the crossing dome and the belltower. After Thiersch had considered various construction techniques for the dome, he decided on the most innovative solution: a double shell tambor dome made of two different concrete masses. The inner dome was made of aerated concrete; the outer dome which is visible from a distance was made of harder saturated concrete material. The attached lantern is a small domed structure made of sandstone. Red roof tiles laid on the outer dome shell are reminiscent of the dome of the Florentine Cathedral.”
“In 1933 damage occurred to the roof and dome shells, so ring anchors were installed at the base of the dome and another layer of concrete added to the roof. These measures led to further damage over the course of the 20th century – deformation of the carbonated concrete shells and the formation of cracks – so that they were undone in an extensive restoration from 2011 to 2018. First the lantern was dismantled, then the concrete layer from 1933 removed, the cracks filled, and the other dome shell reinforced with a new concrete layer connected to the old. A new tiled roof on a slatted frame was attached to the dome.”
“The slender 64 metre high belltower was originally intended to be freestanding in the style of an Italian campanile. Apparently though during construction, concerns arose about its stability. That is why a bridge room was built between its ground floor and the transept. The tower was so endangered because of its construction materials (unplastered bricks with sandstone cornices), the concrete staircase and the heavy steel bells hung in 1948 that during the early 21st century restoration a steel skeleton had to be installed to stabilise the walls and support the steps. At the same time, the Perner Bell Foundry in Passau manufactured four new lighter bronze bells which were mounted in the reconstructed wooden belfry. Instead of the two bell hood initially planned by Thiersch, the tower has a pyramidal pointed helmet. Thiersch took the church of Santo Spirito in Florence as a model.”
“When you walk along Freidrichstrasse towards St Ursula’s, the brick red dome and the slender campanile catch your eye from afar; as you get closer, the elegant two storey façade of the basilica made of exposed brick with sandstone components catches your eye. Standing on Kaiserplatz, you can see that the central axis of the façade, which is framed by pilasters, is decorated with Christian imagery. The pediment contains a mosaic by Karl Ule (1858 to before 1939) designed by the painter Wilhelm Volz (1855 to 1901). It shows the Lamb of God in a wreath carried by angels. Below, a stone statue of Christ by Balthasar Schmitt (1858 to 1942) is enthroned in a shell niche. There are also tiny scenes on vases in the pilaster reliefs of the parables of the Good Samarian (Luke 10:25 to 37) and the Return of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11 to 32). The busts are of the prophets Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah and Jeremiah. Two portico and steps are now popular places for sun seeking residents. Events also often taken place on this ‘stage’.”
“If you walk around the church to the east, you first pass the simple rectory and parish office and in its garden is one of the removed bells. Walk along the wall of the parish garden and you reach the east transept. This elevation is classically structured with a pediment and oculus, and a large round window reminiscent of an ancient thermal bath window in a semicircular flat niche. The tympanum, which was executed by Heinrich Waderé (1865 to 1950), contains figures of the Madonna adored by the old Simeon and Hanna. The low cross shaped sacristy, which is to the northeast between the choir and the transept, has its own apse with arched windows. The west side of the church is largely blocked by the student dormitory building, but you can see the upper parts of the transept front. Before you end the outside tour stand again in front of the steps to the south and you can see the walled up portal on the west wall of the church above the courtyard entrance. This was supposed to lead to the unexecuted colonnade connecting the western annex to the church.”
“If you enter the church through the east vestibule you first stand in the staircase hall to the organ gallery. You case the last completed stained glass window executed by Ludwig Kirchmayr in 1897. Next to the door is a memorial plaque to the architect August Thiersch. If you continue to the left into the nave, you get the first impression of the long axis of the space. The nave is separated by the aisles by arched arcades on composite columns. Above this are arched windows which original had coloured borders. Like its inspiration Santo Spirito, the colours are very reserved.”
“In the south wall you enter the former baptismal chapel through an elaborate wooden grille. It was converted into a prayer room by architect Helmut Rudolf in 2005. The room had lost its original function because the baptismal font had been moved to the southeast crossing column decades ago. The baptismal font, sculpted in early Renaissance forms, dates from 1898. The circular altar island rises over three steps in the centre of the crossing. It was built in 1979 to accommodate the powerful celebration altar by Thomas Otto Munz (1929 to 2011). Associated with the altar is the gilded wooden cross by Maria Munz-Natterer (2008), a highly abstracted crucifix that shows Christ as King with huge stigmata.”
