St. Boniface's Abbey

St. Boniface’s Abbey is defined by its long, rhythmic row of round arches along the exterior, a design modeled after the early Christian basilicas of Italy. King Ludwig the First commissioned the monastery in eighteen thirty-five to revive spiritual life in Munich, choosing an architect named Georg Friedrich Ziebland to study Roman churches before beginning the work. The abbey occupies a city site, which was unusual for Benedictine houses that traditionally required farmlands for support, so the king purchased the secularized Andechs Abbey to provide the necessary resources for the monks.