Odeonsplatz, Feldherrnhalle & Theatinerkirche
A grand, Italian-flavored square where a Florentine loggia and a butter-yellow Baroque church frame the gateway to Munich's royal quarter. It is also where the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch met its bloody end, leaving a lasting scar on German history.
About this place
Laid out for King Ludwig I in the early 19th century, Odeonsplatz is one of Munich's most theatrical spaces, a place where locals joke you can feel a slice of Italy. Its southern edge is closed by the Feldherrnhalle, or Hall of the Field Marshals, an open loggia of golden stone built between 1841 and 1844 and modeled directly on the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, complete with bronze statues of the commanders Tilly and Wrede and two guardian lions added in 1906. Beside it glows the Theatinerkirche, dedicated to Saint Cajetan, whose brilliant yellow walls and 71-meter dome made it the first true Baroque church north of the Alps. Yet this elegant square also carries a heavy memory, for it was here on 9 November 1923 that Adolf Hitler's failed Beer Hall Putsch was crushed by police gunfire. Together these monuments blend royal splendor, Italian artistry, and a sober reminder of the century that followed.
Key facts
- 71 meters — Height of the Theatinerkirche's soaring Baroque dome
- 1844 year — The Feldherrnhalle was completed, honoring the Bavarian army
- 20 dead — Sixteen putschists and four policemen killed in the 1923 gun battle here
📍 Odeonsplatz, 80333, München