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When a civilization ends, it does not leave behind a tombstone. Instead, it leaves stackings of stones (i.e. buildings.) We lose the remembrance of individual people, the things they said, did, and wrote, but we remember what they built because those things endure for much longer. The Ancient Greeks and Romans tell us about themselves through their Classical Architecture. We remember the Medieval period in Europe from its castles and Gothic Cathedrals. We remember the early 20th century from the Art Deco buildings it left behind. The style tells us something about their priorities, what they believed, what they knew, and what their hopes were. In a sense, the buildings that a culture leaves behind are a kind of epitaph.
Let’s look through the structural epitaphs of our ancestors.
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Asamkirche (Munich, Germany)
I like this Church for a few reasons. 1) Awesome Church is a fantastic name, 2) I’ve seen this one in person, 3) it’s unusually small, and 4) it’s one of my favorite examples of baroque architecture – particular on its interior.
Note: Yes, I am aware that “Asam” is a name. It just seems like a serendipitous one.
You might be wondering what “Baroque Architecture” is and the answer is below. In addition to explaining what it is, the blurb below also lets you know that the style was conceived as a way of stemming the tide of Protestantism. I don’t know that it actually succeeded on that front, though who knows where we’d be without it. In addition, much of the 21st century’s recent surge of Christianity has been born of a desire to return to and embrace tradition. Beautiful old buildings are an aid to that.
So maybe it was a slow victory.
Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to combat the Reformation and the Protestant church with a new architecture that inspired surprise and awe. It reached its peak in the High Baroque (1625–1675), when it was used in churches and palaces in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Bavaria and Austria. In the Late Baroque period (1675–1750), it reached as far as Russia, the Ottoman Empire and the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in Latin America. In about 1730, an even more elaborately decorative variant called Rococo appeared and flourished in Central Europe.
Baroque architects took the basic elements of Renaissance architecture, including domes and colonnades, and made them higher, grander, more decorated, and more dramatic. The interior effects were often achieved with the use of quadratura (i.e. trompe-l’œil painting combined with sculpture): the eye is drawn upward, giving the illusion that one is looking into the heavens. Clusters of sculpted angels and painted figures crowd the ceiling. Light was also used for dramatic effect; it streamed down from cupolas, and was reflected from an abundance of gilding. Twisted columns were also often used, to give an illusion of upwards motion, and cartouches and other decorative elements occupied every available space. In Baroque palaces, grand stairways became a central element.
The Late Baroque (1675–1750) saw the style spread to all parts of Europe, and to the colonies of Spain and Portugal in the New World. National styles became more varied and distinct. The Late Baroque in France, under Louis XIV, was more ordered and classical; examples included the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles and the dome of Les Invalides. An especially ornate variant, appeared in the early 18th century; it was first called Rocaille in France; then Rococo in Spain and Central Europe. The sculpted and painted decoration covered every space on the walls and ceiling. Its most celebrated architect was Balthasar Neumann, noted for the Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and the Würzburg Residence (1749–51)
St. Johann Nepomuk, better known as the Asam Church (German: Asamkirche), is a Baroque church in Munich, southern Germany. It was built from 1733 to 1746 by a pair of brothers, sculptor Egid Quirin Asam and painter Cosmas Damian Asam, as their private church. It is considered to be one of the most important buildings of the southern German Late Baroque.
Architecture
The church was not commissioned, but built as a private chapel for the greater glory of God and the salvation of the builders. This also allowed the Asam brothers to build in line with their ideas as independent contractors. For example, Egid Quirin Asam could see the altar through a window of his private house next to the church (Asamhaus). He also designed the church as a Beichtkirche (confession church) for the youth. The small church therefore has seven confessionals with allegorical scenes.
The Baroque façade is integrated into the houses of the Sendlingerstraße and swings slightly convex outward. St. Johann Nepomuk was built in a confined space, its property just 22 by 8 m. Even more astonishing is the artistry of the two builders, who were able to harmoniously unite in the two-story space architecture, painting, and sculpture. The indirect lighting in the choir area is especially well done: hidden behind the cornice window, the Trinity figures are illuminated effectively from behind. The cornice itself seems to swing up and down on its curved construction.
Main door panel
The interior is divided vertically into three sections, which increase in brightness from the bottom upwards. The lowermost portion of the benches, for church visitors, is kept relatively dark; its design symbolizes the suffering of the world. The second section, located above, is colored white and blue, and reserved for the emperor. The uppermost portion of the indirect and hidden illuminated ceiling painting is dedicated to God and eternity.
The ceiling fresco “Life of Saint Nepomuk” is considered a masterpiece of Cosmas Damian Asam. The high altar of the Asam Church is framed by four spiral columns. At the high altar, these four columns are used as a reference to the four Bernini columns over the grave of St. Peter in St. Peter’s in Rome. Previously, the brothers Asam had studied in Italy at the Accademia di San Luca, under Lorenzo Bernini. At the top is God, the Saviour. Below the tabernacle, a relic of John of Nepomuk is kept. Two angels, sculpted by Ignaz Günther, flank the gallery altar and were added at a later date.
Compared to other more strictly patterned Baroque churches, the Asamkirche shows some peculiarities due to its status as a private chapel. The church altar is situated in the west, not the east as usual. In addition, the crucifix opposite the pulpit was hung unusually low. In Baroque churches it was to hang above the pulpit, so that the preacher had to look up to Jesus Christ.
In a bomb attack in 1944, the choir was heavily damaged. Interior restoration from 1975 to 1983 proceeded according to source study, restoring a hypothetical original appearance of the choir.
Asamhaus
The Asams bought four houses for their project, the southern house built in the 16th century. When Egid took possession of the house, he sculpted lavish exterior stucco ornamentation as was typical for the South German rococo, an ornament technique inspired by Lüftlmalerei (an artistic expression of paintings on the outside walls of houses in Bavaria and Tyrol). The two houses in the middle were demolished to build the church. The northern house became a priest’s residence, and also shows a rococo facade.
Due to public pressure, the brothers were forced to make the church accessible to the public.
As baroque churches go, for the reasons stated above, this one is relatively unique. It’s also just astonishingly detailed and beautiful. The video below will show you a lot of the details.
For a more entertaining tour – complete with commentary but a little less sight-seeing – I recommend the following:
