Anyone not familiar with southern Germany and especially Bavaria is surprised by the onion domes on towers in and around Munich and even on churches. These I have found are the remnants of the Austrian empire. They also represent  the victory of the Catholic church over the Protestant. Thus traditional spires are abandoned in favour of the more Russian looking onion domes. The architectural reason given is that onion domes do not gather heavy snow on the dome tops during the winter season.

Source–https://jsah.ucpress.edu/content/40/2/138

onion dome