Welcome to the Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelbergs most famous church, a church which
is the king of old central Heidelberg.
The church, with its beautiful steeple rising high above the roofs, is of the very first
thing you notice when entering Heidelberg.
The first mentions of a "Church of the Holy Spirit" can be found in documents dating back
to 1239, where the church was the parish church.
This church, probably from the late Romanesque period, had been erected in the place of an
even older church.
The church was replaced in 1398 by the building you can see today, which makes it the third
sacral building on the site.
The order to construct a new church was given by the Elector Ruprecht III, in combination
with founding the university in 1386.
The mayor of the time, Arnold Rype, is according to the documents the master builder.
This did not however mean he was the architect, only the financial coordinator.
The choir of the church was consecrated in 1411 and the nave was finished 30 years later,
at which time the construction of the steeple started.
However, the work got interrupted and the tower did not finish until 1544.
Thus, the work of constructing the church took around 150 years in total.
Through out these years, there have been numerous architects working on the designer, both more
local architects and architects brought in from surrounding areas.
As the church became the university church for the University of Heidelberg, the church
sometimes served as a lecture hall during its early stages.
The churched also had a library in the gallery section; the world famous Bibliotheca Palatina,
founded by Ludwig III.
The Bibliotheca Palatina is a collection of around 5000 books and over 3200 manuscripts.
This collection did however get stolen during the Thirty Years War, by the Holy Roman Empire
commander, General Tilly.
These spoils of war were later given to pope Gregor XV, as a gift by the elector of Bavaria,
Maximilian I. In 1816, a mere 885 of the books and manuscripts were returned to the church,
the rest remains in the Vatican Library where is forms the Bibliotheca Palatina section
of its library.
The church has not only been subject to theft.
In 1633 the church was set on fire by the French army of King Ludwig XIV in the Palatine
War of Succession.
The damaged caused by the fire later forced a reconstruction of the roof in 1709.
The roof got a more Baroque style and a new spire; the very one we currently see today.
Another major damage caused by the fire was done to all the elector graves.
Prior to the fire, the church housed the graves all the former Palatine Electors.
However, after the fire, only the grave of the church founder, Ruprecht III, remained
intact -- the rest were destroyed.
During the years, the church has been used by both Catholics and Protestants, even simultaneously.
In 1706, a partition was used so that both congregations could hold their services without
any mutual disturbance.
However, in 1720 the current Elector Palatine, Karl III Philip, made enemies within the Protestant
ranks as he handed over full control of the Church of the Holy Spirit to the Catholics.
The elector did however change his mind, after pressure from Prussia, Holland and Sweden.
The wall which as used to separate the different disciplines were tore down in 1936 and the
church is now exclusively Protestant.
One fun fact of the church is that it became somewhat of a tourist attraction and a symbol
of the Hippies and the Flower Power movement in the beginning of the 1970's.
In 1972, a rock concert by Werner Pieper and the English band Quintessence was organized
in the church.
The concert was met with great enthusiasm by students and Hippies alike.
However, in conservative church circles this performance was viewed; let's just say "more
critically".
If you have the time and the will, I recommend that you go in the church steeple.
It will give you an amazing view over the roofs.