St. Clement’s Church, Münster

In 1745, Westphalian architect Johann Conrad Schlaun introduced an unusual geometric design to central Münster. Commissioned by Prince-Bishop Clemens August I of Bavaria as a church for the Hospitaller Brothers, St. Clement's took shape as a rotunda based on overlapping triangles forming a six-pointed star. Schlaun combined local materials—warm red brick and pale sandstone—with the dramatic curves of Roman Baroque architecture, giving the entrance facade a gently projecting form along the narrow street.

Beyond the portal, the interior unfolds in a theatrical interplay of light and decoration. Daylight enters through windows at different levels and the lantern above the central dome, illuminating the painted ceiling. Munich painter Johann Adam Schöpf depicted the glorification of Saint Clement across the dome, while stucco artist Jakob Rauch enriched the interior with flowing ornament and sculpted angels. Around the main altar, elaborate stucco forms frame the sacred imagery. Four blue columns with gilded capitals, reflecting the colors of the House of Wittelsbach, surround an altarpiece depicting Clement's martyrdom, originally painted by Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Pittoni.

During World War II, Allied bombing destroyed the surrounding hospital wings and severely damaged the church, leaving much of its outer masonry standing but devastating the Rococo interior. Reconstruction began with the exterior between 1956 and 1959, followed by the painstaking restoration of the frescoes and stucco decoration from 1961 to 1974. As the hospital was relocated rather than rebuilt, the church emerged as a freestanding rotunda within a new public garden.

Today, St. Clement's stands apart from its former monastic complex, its curved brick facade and restored dome overlooking the surrounding garden. Religious services, weddings, and organ concerts continue beneath the reconstructed frescoes, bringing music and worship back into Schlaun's richly decorated Baroque interior.