About four kilometres from Dachau, the municipality of Hebertshausen is home to St. George's Church, which sits prominently above a sloping terrain, overlooking the adjacent cemetery. This late Romantic building had been repeatedly altered over the centuries, leaving little of its original character intact. Severe structural damage and visible neglect made a comprehensive overhaul essential. From the outset, it was clear that bringing the building up to standard would require significant interventions. The challenge also extended to determining how the church should function alongside a newly constructed chapel.

"Working closely with both church and municipal leadership allowed us to move beyond basic restoration and construction requirements, and to develop a comprehensive vision for the entire site," notes architect Markus O. Kuntscher of Heim Kuntscher Architekten und Stadtplaner. Central to this vision was reinforcing the church's role as the spiritual heart of the cemetery. A new western entrance was added to achieve this, requiring an outdoor platform connecting the church to the grounds. Inside, the church is suffused with colour through its stained-glass windows—a carefully orchestrated palette. While the choir area features opal white glass, Munich-based artist Prof. Jerry Zeniuk created a refined colour composition for the eight windows of the nave.

The mortuary completes the architectural ensemble. The original modest structure could neither accommodate respectful viewings nor funeral ceremonies, so it was completely reconfigured, opening the interior space to the roof. Black-grey stained timber cladding now wraps the building, with each window fitted with a wall-height folding shutter. These movable elements give mourners control over light and mood during moments of personal farewell.

The new funeral chapel was designed as an extension of the cemetery wall, deliberately keeping it lower than the surrounding structures to avoid competing with the historic buildings. It connects seamlessly to the mortuary and extends toward the main cemetery gate. What makes St. George's transformation exceptional is its scope—rarely does a church renovation extend so comprehensively, encompassing everything from landscape redesign of the surrounding terrain to the addition of a funeral chapel to the careful restoration of the altar and windows in this protected historic structure.

www.heim-kuntscher.de

Photography Credits:

Florian Holzherr
www.florian-holzherr.com

(Published in CUBE Munich 04|21)