St. Ignaz

In Germany, St. Ignaz rises between neighbouring buildings, with its south and east walls fully visible. A steep late Gothic roof draws your gaze upward, crowned by a stone lamb above pointed traceried windows.

The Brotherhouse began in 1444, when two charitable citizens joined their fortunes to shelter poor craftsmen. Some residents worked for their keep, while others paid a fee instead. A near-complete rebuilding in 1622 created the present church, including its round-arched portal and double staircase. Inside, a nearly square room holds stained-glass windows from the nineteenth century and seating arranged for women, men, clergy and brothers. The pews once generated income because residents leased them according to this strict social order. A Good Shepherd painting by Christian Kappelmeyer fills the apse, while seventeenth-century paintings follow Christ’s final days along one wall.

Below the church, barrel-vaulted cellars extend beneath the present street, storing beer and wine and possibly serving as correction cells. The sober interior also preserves a simple wooden altar and a pulpit shaped by the church’s charitable history. St. Ignaz forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage associated with this long tradition of care.