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All Germany Munich Der Teufelstritt (The Devil's Footprint)

Der Teufelstritt (The Devil's Footprint)

The footprint of a frustrated devil in Munich's Cathedral.

Munich, Germany

Added By
Annetta Black
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The devil’s footprint or a clever tourist trap? Both?   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Teufelss...
  Inkythistle / Atlas Obscura User
  Inkythistle / Atlas Obscura User
  kittcat1217 / Atlas Obscura User
The Devil’s Footprint - Munich, Germany   C Stork / Atlas Obscura User
Looking at the Devil’s Footprint   nataliemma / Atlas Obscura User
Frauenkirche - Munich Cathedral   nataliemma / Atlas Obscura User
  chriswal2 / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
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According to legend, in 1468 architect Jorg von Halspach went looking for money to build a new cathedral in Munich and ended up making a bargain with the Devil: the Devil would provide the funds for the huge building on the condition that it be a celebration of darkness, with no windows to let in light.

When the building was complete, von Helpach led the Devil inside to survey his work, and to show him that he had upheld his end of the bargain. Although there was light, there seemed to be no windows, and the devil was satisfied. But then when he took another step further, the columns that had been blocking the view of the windows opened up and, in his fury at being tricked, he stamped his foot, forever marking the floor with his black footprint.

The large black footprint is still there, and indeed proudly shown off by the staff of the Frauenkirche as well as eager tour guides. Unfortunately, there are a few problems with its mythological origins.

The first problem is immediately obvious: there is an enormous window at the end of the church that is not blocked by columns. It was, however, concealed by a huge altar from 1620 to 1858, so it's possible that the story originated during that time period.

The second problem is with the mark itself: the large footprint is inset into a tile that does not match the surrounding floor. The church has been restored several times over the centuries, with a huge restoration effort following the roof's collapse in WWII, and some of the work just ended in 1994. According to author Joe Nickell, the warden of the church admitted that the footstep now visible is a "reconstruction," but it is not known exactly what it is a reconstruction of or when it first appeared.

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Added By

Annetta Black

Edited By

kpryzk, Spiffy, C Stork, CoolCrab...

  • kpryzk
  • Spiffy
  • C Stork
  • CoolCrab
  • nataliemma
  • chriswal2
  • kittcat1217
  • Inkythistle
  • Edian
  • lilliandjasonschipper

Published

January 3, 2010

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Sources
  • <cite>Legends and Tales of Old Munich</cite>, AC Stahl pgs 34-35
  • http://books.google.com/books?id=lX5YQ_evjXYC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=the+black+footprint+munich&source=bl&ots=X1sgoaG8Cy&sig=Do3NGWJ2SqFS4Vu2wN_GKz_KnBA&hl=en&ei=pG5BS9fLLouGswPN8eTNBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=the%20black%20footprint%20munich&f=false
  • <cite>Adventures in Paranormal Investigation</cite>, Joe Nickell, The University Press of Kentucky, 2007
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Frauenkirche
Der Teufelstritt (The Devil's Footprint)
12 Frauenplatz
Munich, 80331
Germany
48.138599, 11.573564
Get Directions

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