Exterior of the 13th century Church of the Holy Spirit (Heiliggeistkirche) in the Old Town (Alstadt) of Heidelberg, Germany.
The Church of the Holy Spirit is the most famous church in Heidelberg Germany It stands in the middle of the market place in the old center of Heidelberg not far from the Heidelberg Castle The steeple of the church rising above the roofs dominates the township The Church of the Holy Spirit is first mentioned in a manuscript from 1239 In 1398 the foundations of the current late Gothic church were laid on the site of a late Romanesque basilica which in turn had been erected in the place of even an older church Thus the current church is the third sacral building on the site Documents name Arnold Rype who was also mayor of Heidelberg for a time as the master builder In the usage of the time the term master builder referred not to the architect but the financial coordinator The only known architects of the Church of the Holy Spirit are Hans Marx who worked on the church until 1426 as well as Jorg who was responsible until 1439 Both men probably supervised work on the nave Under the reign of Prince elector Frederick I a notes specialist in the construction of church towers Niclaus Eseler came from Mainz to Heidelberg and was probably responsible for the execution of the primary work on the spire of the Church of the Holy Spirit Nevertheless the steeple was completed by Lorenz Lechler The construction lasted for some one hundred and fifty years The Choir was consecrated in 1411 and the nave was finished in 1441 Probably in the same year the construction of the steeple was started The work was interrupted until 1508 and the tower was finished in 1544 In 1709 after the church had been set on fire by the French during the War of the Palatinian Succession it was rebuilt and received a baroque spire In the 14th century the Church of the Holy Spirit took over as parish church from St Peter s Church which became the university church for the University of Heidelberg Originally the Church of the Holy Spirit contained the tombs of the Palatin
Size: 3481px × 5312px
Location: city of Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Photo credit: © Foxphoto / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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