diff --git a/src/gui/gtk-lumiera.cpp b/src/gui/gtk-lumiera.cpp
index 31d319b47..87e2c34a7 100644
--- a/src/gui/gtk-lumiera.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/gtk-lumiera.cpp
@@ -66,14 +66,18 @@ GtkLumiera::main(int argc, char *argv[])
   Project project;
   Controller controller(project);
 
-  WindowManager *manager = WindowManager::instance();
-  REQUIRE(manager);
-  manager->set_theme("lumiera_ui.rc");
-  manager->new_window(project, controller);
+  windowManager.init();
+  windowManager.set_theme("lumiera_ui.rc");
+  windowManager.new_window(project, controller);
 
   kit.run();
 }
 
+WindowManager&
+GtkLumiera::get_window_manager()
+{
+  return windowManager;
+}
 
 Glib::ustring
 GtkLumiera::get_home_data_path()
diff --git a/src/gui/gtk-lumiera.hpp b/src/gui/gtk-lumiera.hpp
index 9536f348b..07b36b290 100644
--- a/src/gui/gtk-lumiera.hpp
+++ b/src/gui/gtk-lumiera.hpp
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@
 #include <boost/enable_shared_from_this.hpp>
 #include "lib/util.hpp"
 
+#include "window-manager.hpp"
+
 extern "C" {
 #include <gavl/gavltime.h>
 }
@@ -72,6 +74,8 @@ class GtkLumiera : private boost::noncopyable
 public:
   void main(int argc, char *argv[]);
   
+  WindowManager& get_window_manager();
+  
   static Glib::ustring get_home_data_path();
 
   /**
@@ -98,6 +102,12 @@ public:
    * Returns tn alphabetical list of the application's authors
    **/
   static const std::vector<Glib::ustring> get_app_authors();
+  
+protected:
+  /**
+   * The application window manager object
+   **/
+  WindowManager windowManager;
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/gui/window-manager.cpp b/src/gui/window-manager.cpp
index ec8596563..04f9ffdc9 100644
--- a/src/gui/window-manager.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/window-manager.cpp
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 
 #include "window-manager.hpp"
 #include "include/logging.h"
+#include "workspace/workspace-window.hpp"
 
 using namespace Gtk;
 using namespace Glib;
@@ -34,7 +35,8 @@ namespace gui {
 IconSize WindowManager::GiantIconSize = ICON_SIZE_INVALID;
 IconSize WindowManager::MenuIconSize = ICON_SIZE_INVALID;
 
-WindowManager::WindowManager()
+void
+WindowManager::init()
 {
   register_app_icon_sizes();  
   register_stock_items();
@@ -73,14 +75,6 @@ WindowManager::set_theme(Glib::ustring path)
   return true;
 }
 
-WindowManager*
-WindowManager::instance()
-{
-  // Initialized during first access
-  static WindowManager manager;
-  return &manager;
-}
-
 bool
 WindowManager::on_window_closed(GdkEventAny* event)
 { 
diff --git a/src/gui/window-manager.hpp b/src/gui/window-manager.hpp
index 0f2f9c0e2..341c25fcb 100644
--- a/src/gui/window-manager.hpp
+++ b/src/gui/window-manager.hpp
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
  */
 
 #include "gtk-lumiera.hpp"
-#include "workspace/workspace-window.hpp"
+//#include "workspace/workspace-window.hpp"
 
 #ifndef WINDOW_MANAGER_HPP
 #define WINDOW_MANAGER_HPP
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@ namespace controller {
   class Controller;
 } // model
 
+namespace workspace {
+  class WorkspaceWindow;
+}
+
 /**
  * The centralised manager of all lumiera-gui's windows.
  **/
@@ -48,9 +52,9 @@ class WindowManager : private boost::noncopyable
 {
 public:
   /**
-   * Default constructor
+   * Initializes the window manager object
    **/
-  WindowManager();
+  void init();
   
   /**
    * Creates a new window connected to a specified project and
@@ -68,10 +72,6 @@ public:
    **/
   bool set_theme(Glib::ustring path);
 
-public:
-
-  static WindowManager* instance();
-
   /**
    * A utility function which reads a colour style from the GTK Style.
    * @param widget The widget to load the style out of.
diff --git a/src/gui/workspace/actions.cpp b/src/gui/workspace/actions.cpp
index f226775be..e2679b7f1 100644
--- a/src/gui/workspace/actions.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/workspace/actions.cpp
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ Actions::on_menu_view_viewer()
 void
 Actions::on_menu_view_new_window()
 {
-  WindowManager::instance()->new_window(workspaceWindow.project,
+  application().get_window_manager().new_window(workspaceWindow.project,
     workspaceWindow.controller); 
 }