Temple in Munich's English Garden shines again

The top of the temple lights up in bright colors again as do the frescoes and reliefs on the exterior of the building. The last restoration work, the touching of the gilded inscription in honor of park founder Elector Charles Theodore, is to be completed when the columned temple reopens on September 29.

The extensive restoration work began in August 2015. The work has been estimated by the Bavarian park authorities at a cost of some 750,000 euros ($842,000). Because of its exposed position on a 15-meter (49-foot) hill, the small temple with its 10 columns suffered severe weather damage. Paint work faded and limestone suffered damages over the years.

Commissioned by King Leopold I of Bavaria, the monopteros was designed and built by Leo von Klenze from 1832 to 1837. Unlike other buildings in the English Garden, the temple was not greatly damaged during the World War II. The last time any restoration work was carried out on the temple was in the early 1980s - when the paint work was touched up and the roof repaired.

Both the Chinese Tower and the monopteros are the best known landmarks of the English Garden, which was created 225 years ago by Sir Benjamin Thompson, later Count Rumford, for Prince Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria as a public park.

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