Chinesischer Turm e.V.The round temple on the hill
The Monopteros
A Greek round temple on an artificial hill, ten minutes south of the Chinese Tower. From here the view reaches across the park to the towers of the old town.
What a monopteros is
The word is Greek and denotes a circular building with a single ring of columns and no enclosing wall. Not a building in the ordinary sense but a roof on columns. That is exactly what makes it the ideal folly: it frames the view without blocking it.
Construction
- Decision
- 1831
- Completed
- sources give 1836 or 1837
- Design
- Leo von Klenze
- Patron
- King Ludwig I, in honour of Elector Karl Theodor
- Columns
- a ring of ten
- Hill
- artificial, about 15 metres, on a brick foundation
- Access
- free, all year round
- Restorations
- 1898, 1952/53, 1980 to 1982, 2014 to 2016
Leo von Klenze is the architect who shaped neoclassical Munich: Königsplatz, the Glyptothek, the Alte Pinakothek, the Walhalla near Regensburg. The Monopteros is the smallest and lightest piece in that body of work, and perhaps the best loved.
The hill is not natural. It was raised so that the temple would rise above the park and be visible from several directions. A landscape garden builds its own landscape when none is available.
The inscription of the predecessor
A wooden predecessor stood on this spot. It carried an inscription that summed up the whole park in one line: Hier wo ihr wallet da war sonst Wald nur und Sumpf, where you now stroll there was once only forest and swamp. The English Garden was floodplain woodland before it was a park.
The view
To the south and west the view opens across the meadows to the silhouette of the old town. On a clear day the towers of the Frauenkirche and the city hall are easy to make out. The Monopteros is the only point in the southern park where city and garden appear in one picture. In the evening the hill is a meeting place; those seeking quiet come in the morning.
The walk from the Chinese Tower
From the beer garden at the Chinese Tower walk south for about ten minutes, keeping parallel to the stream. The hill appears on your right. Ten minutes further on lies the Eisbach surfing wave by the Haus der Kunst. The full route is in the walk.
Tower and temple
The two buildings of the southern park are not an accidental pair but the classic contrast of garden design: the exotic, sociable tower and the classical, contemplative temple. One has a beer garden, the other a view. Together they explain how a landscape garden was meant to work.
Frequently asked questions
When was the Monopteros built?
The decision was taken in 1831; sources give either 1836 or 1837 for completion.
Who designed the Monopteros?
Leo von Klenze, the architect of neoclassical Munich, for King Ludwig I.
What does monopteros mean?
Greek for a circular building with a single ring of columns and no enclosing wall, effectively a roof on columns.
Is the Monopteros free to visit?
Yes, all year round and without an entrance fee.
How far is the Monopteros from the Chinese Tower?
About ten minutes on foot to the south.