St. Michael’s Church in the centre of Munich, Germany, is a large Renaissance church.
In 1556, Albert V, Duke of Bavaria, gave the Society of Jesus permission to establish the Wilhelmsgymnasium. The collegiate church was founded in 1583 and was consecrated in 1597, during the reign of Albert’s son, William V, Duke of Bavaria. The facade contains statues of William and earlier rulers of the Wittelsbachs.
The Jesuits were eventually suppressed and banned, upon which the church came into the possession of the Bavarian royal family and, later, the State of Bavaria. The church was heavily damaged during the Second World War, and it was restored between 1946 and 1948.
The church contains several royal tombs.
The crypt also contains a side crypt with several urns with hearts.
Several tombs are not visible to the public, including Archduchess Gisela of Austria, who was the eldest surviving daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and his wife, Empress Elisabeth. She and some others rest in the columbarium located next to the heart crypt.
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