4 Best Sights in The Bavarian Alps, Germany

Across the Loisach River stands the original St. Martin church (aka "Die Alte Kirche," or the Old Church), whose original foundation was laid in the 9th century. Its current building dates to 1280 and showcases Gothic wall paintings from throughout the centuries, including a 7-meter-high (21-foot-high), larger-than-life figure of St. Christopher from 1330 and a Passion of the Christ fresco dating to the 1400s.

Beautiful examples of Upper Bavarian houses line Frühlingstrasse. A pedestrian zone begins at Richard-Strauss-Platz and at another end, just off Marienplatz, is this unassuming 18th-century parish church that contains significant stuccowork by the Wessobrunn artist Jospeh Schmutzer and Rococo work by Matthäus Günther, restored to its original vibrancy.

Built in 1736, this church is regarded as the finest work of rococo architect Josef Schmutzer, whose son, Franz Xaver Schmutzer, did a lot of the stuccowork. Striking frescoes by Matthäus Günther and Franz Seraph Zwinck depict Mary as the answerer of prayers as well as a scene from the crucifixion. The latter is said to date back to the 1633 promise by the elders of Oberammergau to hold the passion play every decade if the town were to be saved from the plague.

On the back of the altar in this 18th-century church (as in Oberammergau, built by Josef Schmutzer and decorated by Matthäus Günther) you'll find Matthias Klotz's name, carved there by the violin maker himself. Note that on some of the ceiling frescoes, the angels are playing violins, violas da gamba, and lutes. In front of the church, Klotz is memorialized as an artist at work in vivid bronze sculpted by Ferdinand von Miller (1813–79), creator of the mighty Bavaria Monument in Munich. The church, with its elaborate and joyful stuccowork coiling and curling its way around the interior, is one of the most important rococo structures in Bavaria. The Gothic choir loft was added in the 18th century. The bold frescoes on its exterior are characteristic of Lüftlmalerei, where images, usually religious motifs, were painted on the wet stucco exteriors of houses and churches. On nearby streets you can see other fine examples on the facades of three famous houses: the Goethehaus, the Pilgerhaus, and the Pichlerhaus. Among the artists working here was the great Franz Seraph Zwinck.