St. Peter's Church

Before Munich was Munich, there was a church on this hill. The Petersbergl — Peter's Hill — had a settlement of monks and a church as early as the 8th century, making this the oldest recorded parish site in the city. When Duke Henry the Lion officially founded Munich in 1158, he built around what was already here. In a very real sense, Munich didn't create St. Peter's — St. Peter's created Munich.

The current building is a palimpsest of catastrophe and reconstruction. The original Romanesque church burned in the city fire of 1327 and was rebuilt in Gothic style. Baroque renovations in the 17th and 18th centuries added the ornate high altar with its golden figure of St. Peter, now one of Munich's most recognised pieces of ecclesiastical art. Then Allied bombs devastated the building in 1944, and Munich spent decades piecing it back together. Every era left its mark, which gives the interior a layered richness that purpose-built churches rarely achieve.

The real draw is "Alter Peter" — Old Peter — the 91-metre tower with its viewing platform. There's no lift. Just 306 narrow, spiralling steps up to a cramped outdoor gallery that rewards you with a 360-degree panorama of the city, the Alps on clear days, and a God-like view straight down into Marienplatz. It's the best vantage point in central Munich, and the locals know it — the platform gets packed on sunny afternoons.

Inside the church, look for the jewelled skeleton of St. Mundita, lying in a glass coffin near the left aisle. She's a catacomb saint whose remains were brought from Rome in the 17th century, adorned with gold, gems, and silk, and placed on display as the patron saint of single women. Her skull wears a crown, her teeth are visible, and she gazes at visitors through glass eyes. It's simultaneously beautiful, macabre, and very Munich.