Türkentor — Attraction in Munich

Türkentor is the surviving gatehouse of a 19th-century army barrack located in the Museum District of Munich, just near Brandhorst and Pinakothek der Moderne. The building was restored in 2010 and is attractive to view from the outside if you like architecture.

Interestingly, the building now houses American sculptor Walter De Maria's - Large Red Sphere, a 25-tonne highly polished red granite sphere. With light reflection, the sculpture resembles an All Seeing Eye. It rests upon a plinth that is a flat and circular series of three-steps. It is further surrounded by four columns, creating a symmetrical appearance that is neat to see.

Overall, Türkentor is a fun minor attraction in Munich. Give it a few minutes of your time in between museum visits you might be making...

The Türkentor or Turks' Gate, is a the only surviving part of the Türkenkaserne army barracks, built in 1826. The gatehouse was named after the street on which it's located, Türkenstraße. Which in turn named after the Türkengraben channel dug along the Kurfürstenstraße by Turkish prisoners of war during the 18th century wars with the Ottoman Empire. That's a lot of Turks.

A bit of history and worth a quick look if in the Museum district. Otherwise, don't go...

Vom alten Kasernentor ist in der Tat nicht mehr viel Substanz erhalten. Dennoch wurde das wenige, sehr gut zu einem harmonisch modernen Gesamtkunstwerk komponiert. So spiegelt sich bei passender Beleuchtung der Fensterausblick in der Granitkugel. Auch die anderen Lichtquellen spiegeln sich, je nach Einfallswinkel, unterschiedlich auf der zentralen Granitkugel. Runde Elemente (Säulen, Sockel, Kugel) in tollem Einklang mit quadratischen Elementen (Raum, Holzbalken, Fenster). In Ruhe auf sich wirken lassen und das Spiel mit Licht und Formen aufnehmen, in dem man langsam seinen "Point of view" ändert. Ich bin gewiss kein Fan von moderner Kunst, aber dies hier hat...