Marienkirche
Stand on the square in front of the south side and look up. The Marienkirche is the second-largest church building in Thuringia, outdone only by the cathedral in Erfurt, and its central spire, 86.7 metres high, is the tallest in the state. That spire is younger than it looks: it went up between 1898 and 1903, while the two side spires, roughly 42 metres each, and the body of the church are mostly 14th-century Gothic, built of local travertine.
The main entrance is the south transept portal right in front of you. It sits flush with the side wall, yet two flanking pillars make it look wider and more prominent than it is. Look above its centre: on an illusory balcony, four stone figures lean over and look down on the square, as if checking who is coming in. At the eastern end you'll see three choirs, a tall, slender central one flanked by two smaller ones; the northern one was a baptismal chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas, and the sacristy lies under the southern one.
Inside, the scale makes sense. This is a five-aisled hall church, its central nave twice as wide as the side aisles, and four rows of five slender columns divide the space into 30 rectangles. The transept is as wide as the nave and doesn't stick out at the ends. In the Middle Ages the gallery held a library, as larger churches often did. Organ lovers should look for the Sauer organ of 1891, the largest surviving 19th-century organ in Thuringia.
This is also where Mühlhausen's most turbulent year began. Thomas Müntzer, the revolutionary leader of the German Peasants' War, served as pastor here, and on 17 March 1525 he founded the Eternal Council inside this church. The church charges admission, and going in is worth it for almost everyone.
From here it is 300 m, about 4 minutes, to the town wall; on the way you pass the Rabenturm.
