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Asamkirche

Among the ostentatious rococo ornamentation of this church, an image of death cuts the life-thread.

Munich, Germany

Added By
Allison Meier
Death cutting the life-thread   theqspeaks/Flickr
Detail of death cutting the life-thread   sushiesque/Flickr
View of the church, with the death sculpture on the lower left   txmx-2/Flickr
Outside of Asamkirche   digital cat/Flickr
Decor on the ceiling   digital cat/Flickr
Center of the church   vike/Flickr
Gate to the church   snigl3t/Flickr
Detail of church   Darren Foreman/Flickr
Inside the church   CoolCrab (Atlas Obscura User)
Asamkirche - Munich, Germany   C Stork (Atlas Obscura User)
Cherubs at Asamkirche - Jon Lander   jonlinolathe (Atlas Obscura User)
Altar   DevilJoe1979 (Atlas Obscura User)
Jesus behind bars   DevilJoe1979 (Atlas Obscura User)
Found it!   DaytonDUI (Atlas Obscura User)
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About

The Asam brothers, Egid Quirin Asam and Cosmas Damian Asam, were Baroque masters, but nowhere were their rococo tastes so lavish as in their own private chapel.

Officially called the Church of Saint Johann Nepomuk, the church is better known as Asamkirche (or Asam Church) in their honor. It was built between 1733 and 1746 and was intended to be their own gilded spiritual retreat, but the public wanted in. Eventually, it opened to all and due to the popular demand within the lifetime of the brothers.

Lurking among the gold, grinning cherubs, mosaics, and frescoes is one particularly ominous sight. A gilded sculpture near the entrance portal shows a skeletal image of death with scissors about to cut through the life-thread of a poor soul. It's an incredibly detailed memento mori among the ornamentation. 

Related Tags

Death Memento Mori Churches Skeletons Sacred Spaces

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Added By

Allison

Edited By

rugby007, Monsieur Mictlan, C Stork, CoolCrab...

Published

September 13, 2013

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