At the beginning of the 13th century, a small Romanesque basilica Zum Heiligen Geist stood on the site of today's Heiliggeistkirche, which presumably fell victim to a fire at the beginning of the 14th century. An early Gothic church was built in its place, in which the opening mass for the founding of Heidelberg University took place on 18 October 1386. Under Ruprecht III, the choir of the church was demolished just 12 years later and replaced by a larger one. The year 1398 is therefore considered the founding year of the Heiliggeistkirche.
The hall choir was completed in 1410, the nave with the base of the tower under Ruprecht's son Ludwig III in 1441. Ludwig III laid the foundations for the later famous Palatinate Library, the BIBLIOTECA PALATINA, by having the first books placed in the galleries of the Heiliggeistkirche. During the reign of Louis V (1508-1544), when the most important palace buildings were also being constructed, the tower continued to be built and completed. In the course of the Reformation, the church changed several times between Lutheran and Reformed-Calvinist denominations. In 1563, the Heidelberg Catechism was created as a reformed confession. With the Thirty Years' War and the conquest of Heidelberg by Catholic troops, the city and the church became Catholic for many years and Pope Gregory XV had the BIBLIOTECA PALATINA brought to Rome as spoils of war in 1623.
In the course of the Palatinate-Orléans War of Succession, the church was severely damaged in 1693. Almost all of the tombstones of the Electors Palatine were destroyed; the one of Elector Ruprecht II, the founder of the church, has been preserved. Of the once 5000 books and 3524 manuscripts, only 885 were returned to Heidelberg in 1816, all others remained in the Vatican.
In the following two centuries, both Catholics and Protestants laid claim to the church, so that Catholic mass was celebrated in the choir and Protestant services in the nave, separated by a dividing wall. It was not until 1936, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Heiliggeist pastor and later prelate, Pastor Hermann Maas, that an agreement was reached with the Catholic Church; the church became the property of the Protestant Church in Baden. On St John's Day in 1936, the Protestant Heiliggeist parish celebrated services in a church without a dividing wall for the first time.
Church services:
Every Sunday/holiday 11.00 a.m.
Midday services: Thursdays 12.00 noon (Ash Wednesday to Sunday of the Dead)
Visits:
Monday - Saturday 11.00 - 17.00, Sundays and public holidays 12.00 - 17.00
(special opening hours during the Advent season)
Guided tours of the church take place on request, please call the parish office on +49 6221 21 117.
Tower ascent:
Tuesday to Saturday, 11.00 - 14.00; Sunday, 12.30 - 15.30
Further information at: https://heiliggeist-heidelberg.de/besuch/
Concerts in the Heiliggeistkirche:
Hour of church music:
Every Saturday 18:15
Short organ concerts:
Currently Friday and Sunday 5.15pm.
Normally: June to September: daily except Sat 5.15 pm; May+October: Fri, Sun, public holiday
Information on the dates and how to order tickets can be found on the website of the cantorate at the Heiliggeistkirche in the Altstadtgemeinde Heidelberg: www.kirchenmusik-heidelberg.de and www.studentenkantorei.de
