Sacred Heart Church: Modern Catholic Church in Munich

Info about the Sacred Heart Church at a glance

• The Sacred Heart Church in Munich has the largest church doors in the world.
• In addition, the modern architecture stands out from other church buildings.
• The church has already been almost completely destroyed twice and then rebuilt.

The largest church gates in the world

Standing in front of the Sacred Heart Church (Herz-Jesu-Kirche) in Munich, one is struck by the huge gates that stretch almost across the entire front of the church. However, the gates are actually only open on high holidays; Visitors enter the church via two smaller doors.

The gates are made of two layers of blue glass and since the back one is a bit darker, a cross becomes visible when viewed in the right light. The white nails on the gates were arranged by the artist Alexander Beleschenko. According to his own alphabets, they tell the story of the Passion according to John.

What makes the architecture of the Sacred Heart Church stand out

The building itself is a cuboid consisting of a steel skeleton with a glass facade, which is, however, only semi-transparent. The 37-meter-high church tower is detached from the building.

Inside the church there is a wooden cube, around which there is a Stations of the Cross - the story of Jesus' suffering is depicted using black and white photographs. The organ, which is also embedded in a special acoustic concept, was inaugurated in 2003.

History of the Sacred Heart Church

 The original church building was consecrated in 1890, but the parish has only been called "Sacred Heart" since 1936. During a bombing raid in 1944 during the Second World War, the church was almost completely burned out.

Between 1948 and 1951, the church was rebuilt and redesigned. In 1994, however, this church was also almost completely destroyed in a fire. With the help of donations, the church was rebuilt from 1997 to 2000, so the current version is the third Sacred Heart Church.