Germany is not only famous for its beautiful nature, dreamy castles & Burgs,UNESCO-world- heritage sites, sausages,Oktoberfest, Football & beer. This country is also a home to many beautiful churches & life-standing Architecture.As I recall my experience while seeing the great DOM Cathedral in Trier, I was in awe seeing another hidden gem  in the small city of Ingolstadt,in Bavaria, the Liebfrauenmünster. If you walk into the old city center, you can’t miss not to see its towering beauty.

Last Saturday, I was grateful that finally its open. The first time we visited, it was closed so we tried to visit again. This church was constructed in 1425 and was completed in  1525. The Architectural style is Gothic and it has 2 Towers with heights of 62m & 69m.

 

 

I love everything about the facade and exteriors of this church. Its beautiful in the outside but the interior is another thing. As soon I opened the door (photo below ) ,I am perplexed of the harmonious musical chants from the pipe organ  (Klais Organ) which has 4 manuals, 106 ranks, 70 stops, 5,436 pipes.

The pipe organ was built in 1928 with 84 Ranks / 61 registers (+ 6 Ext. / Tr.) on 3 manuals reusing many old Bittner register by Steinmeyer (D, Oettingen)
1977 technical properties reusing some Steinmeyer Register from 1928 through Klais (D, Bonn).

The cathedral also has a choir organ with 60 ranks / 44 registers (+ 1 Ext.) On 3 manuals (Wegscheider 2016) and a chamber organ with 6 registers on 1 Manual (Jann, 1986) and an apple shelf.

Another intricate detail is the base of the columns which are quite interesting.

Another remarkable feature of this this beautiful church was its Vaultings.As I did my research, I found out that its  included in the listings of the South German Late Gothic design & building Praxis  which mainly features the selection of finest & complicated parametric modelling study of late Gothic vaults chiefly in Swabia, Bavaria, Saxony & Bohemia.

Begun in 1425 Chapels (c. 1512–1520) by Erhard Heydenreich, Baumeister between 1509–1524 A Staffelhall church (like Dinkelsbühl), certainly most famous for the bizarre, varied, and profuse vaults of its six chapels by Erhard Heydenreich; the most iconic of which is a double-layered vault in which the flying ribs of the lower vault take the shape of branches. Bucher describes these vaults as symbolising “the last stand of a dying style.” “They are still based on a disciplined geometric grid which explodes into fireworks of incredible technical and design sophistry. The Renaissance was to reject these games with a vengeance, very much as the Bauhaus was to obliterate Art Nouveau.

My daughter enjoyed marvelling the inside of this church,although I am not sure if she will behave if we attend the mass here one day. But I am glad to know that they have separate timings for kinder (children) together with their parents .

It was a great afternoon well spent visiting this church and I am looking forward to explore it more. Maybe climb the towers to have a great view of the city someday?

How about you, do you explore the culture & history beyond the sights you see in the places you visited?

For me, I have learned that whenever I looked up into something beautiful, I made sure I got a piece of history of it.Churches may serve its religious functions,but we must learn to appreciate the great effort & artistry of the people who built it , let alone who designed it.

Ingolstadt is lucky to have this church.It’s a gem. Indeed, something that the locals should be proud of !

This post is in response to today’s photo challenge : Look Up

Look Up