Europe
Germany
Marburg
Church
Elisabethkirche
Name:St. Elizabeth’s Church
Construction period:1235–1283
Commissioned by:Teutonic Order
Architectural style:Gothic
Building material: sandstone
Tallest structure:towers, approx. 80 meters
Length x width:approx. 56 meters x 21.5 meters
Number of visitors:approx. 100,000 visitors / year

21 Fascinating Facts about St. Elizabeth’s Church in Marburg

 

  1. Location: St. Elizabeth’s Church stands in the northern part of Marburg’s old town, near the Lahn River and at the foot of the castle hill, right by a major road intersection. This gives it a central and easily accessible position within the university city.
  2. Significance: St. Elizabeth’s Church was deliberately built above the tomb of Saint Elizabeth and remains Marburg’s most important landmark to this day. It is regarded as the earliest purely Gothic church in Germany and also as the country’s oldest Gothic hall church. In a hall church, the central nave and the side aisles are almost the same height, creating the impression of one large, unified interior space. Around 100,000 people visit each year, mainly because of Saint Elizabeth’s tomb and the church’s outstanding art historical importance.
  3. Saint Elizabeth: Elizabeth of Thuringia was born in 1207 as a Hungarian princess and later lived as a landgravine at Wartburg Castle. After the early death of her husband, she moved to Marburg, founded a hospital, and devoted her life entirely to caring for the poor and the sick. She died in 1231 at the age of just 24 and was canonized as early as 1235. Her tomb quickly became an important pilgrimage site and ultimately led to the construction of St. Elizabeth’s Church.
  4. Predecessor Building: Before the present St. Elizabeth’s Church was built, the hospital founded by Elizabeth stood on this site, along with a simple chapel whose foundations have been confirmed through archaeological evidence. After her death in 1231, Elizabeth was initially buried in a simple earth grave inside this chapel. As her tomb soon developed into an important pilgrimage destination, construction of St. Elizabeth’s Church began in 1235 directly above this spot. Archaeological findings also suggest that the site had already been used and partially developed earlier, although the exact nature and extent of these older structures can no longer be clearly determined today.
  5. Construction History: Construction of St. Elizabeth’s Church began in 1235 under the Teutonic Order, which sought to incorporate the tomb of Saint Elizabeth into a monumental new building and establish an important pilgrimage site. Work initially focused on the eastern section, while parts of the older hospital were deliberately preserved so that veneration at the tomb could continue without interruption. After the transfer of the relics in 1249, construction progressed rapidly and was completed in stages. By 1283, the church was largely finished, while the towers and final additions were only completed in the early 14th century.
  6. Reformation: The Reformation was a religious renewal movement that began in 1517 with Martin Luther’s theses and, over the course of the 16th century, led to the division of the Western Church and the emergence of Protestantism. In Hesse, it was introduced as early as 1526. St. Elizabeth’s Church, however, initially remained a special case, as it belonged to the Teutonic Order and thus temporarily escaped the direct influence of the new doctrine. As a religious knightly order, the Teutonic Order was directly subordinate to the Pope, which meant the church remained Catholic for the time being. Protestant services were first held in St. Elizabeth’s Church on May 18, 1539.
  7. Relic Dispute: As early as the Middle Ages, relics of Saint Elizabeth were repeatedly taken from Marburg and deliberately distributed to other places to spread her veneration beyond the region. This practice changed fundamentally during the Reformation, when Landgrave Philip the Magnanimous ordered the remaining relics in Marburg to be removed from the shrine in 1539 in order to end the cult of saints and the pilgrimage tradition. The Teutonic Order protested and even appealed to Emperor Charles V, but without success, and St. Elizabeth’s Church lost its former status as one of the most important pilgrimage centers in Europe. In the years that followed, the most significant relics were further dispersed. The saint’s head was taken to Vienna, and the Elisabeth reliquary was brought to Stockholm by Swedish troops in 1632. Today, a skull venerated as the saint’s head is displayed in the Church of the Elisabethinen in Vienna, while the Elisabeth reliquary is exhibited in the Historical Museum in Stockholm.
  8. Iconoclasm: Iconoclasm refers to a period in which religious images and symbols are deliberately destroyed because they are considered false or unacceptable. At St. Elizabeth’s Church, this occurred in 1619 on the orders of Landgrave Moritz, who, after converting to Calvinism, had figurative decorations removed. The area west of the choir screen was particularly affected, where numerous figures and a large triumphal cross on the rood screen were destroyed, resulting in the loss of a central part of the medieval interior. Many important artworks in the choir areas, however, were preserved.
  9. Seven Years’ War: From 1756 to 1763, Prussia and Great Britain, together with their allies, fought against Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony, with Prussia and Great Britain emerging as the main victors. During this period, St. Elizabeth’s Church was temporarily repurposed and used, among other things, as a storage space for hay and flour. This use caused damage to parts of the interior, which had to be repaired through extensive restoration work in the years that followed.
  10. Simultaneous Church: Between 1811 and 1827, St. Elizabeth’s Church functioned as a simultaneous church, meaning it was shared by two different denominations. During this time, the choir was used for Catholic services, while the nave served Protestant worship. This unusual arrangement came to an end only when the Catholic community in Marburg received its own church again, and St. Elizabeth’s Church became fully Protestant.
  11. Second World War: During World War II, the most important artworks of St. Elizabeth’s Church were carefully removed or secured as a precaution, including altars, stained glass windows, and the Elisabeth shrine. The church itself remained largely undamaged, although bullet and shrapnel marks can still be seen today on the north wall of the nave. These traces date back to the air raid on the nearby hospital district on February 22, 1944.
  12. Revival of Veneration: In the 1990s, a new phase of devotion to Saint Elizabeth began in Marburg. In 1995, the first Elisabeth Trail was established as a pilgrimage route from Frankfurt to St. Elizabeth’s Church, following key stages of the saint’s life. In the years that followed, additional routes were created, including paths from Eisenach and Cologne, all leading to Marburg. A major highlight was the Elisabeth Year in 2007, marking the 800th anniversary of her birth, celebrated with large ecumenical services, numerous events, and many pilgrims. Elisabeth Day on November 19 continues to be observed each year with a church service, keeping the tradition alive.
  13. Architecture: St. Elizabeth’s Church is a three-aisled Gothic hall church with a cruciform layout and a striking twin-tower façade. It is considered the earliest purely Gothic church in Germany. Its choir consists of three equally prominent, semicircular sections arranged like a cloverleaf around the central space. The interior is defined by three aisles of almost equal height, creating a spacious and open, hall-like atmosphere.
  14. Tomb of Saint Elizabeth: The tomb of Saint Elizabeth is located in the northern part of the church and is designed as an elaborately crafted mausoleum. Above the actual burial site rises a stone tomb with a canopy that symbolically represents the heavens. The tomb is set at a slight angle, a detail that still reflects the orientation of the earlier Franciscan chapel of the Elisabeth Hospital. The burial itself lay beneath the monument in a shaft about 1.70 meters deep, sealed with a heavy stone slab. Of the ornate 14th-century grille that once enclosed the mausoleum and controlled access for pilgrims, only a portion remains today in the southern arch field.
  15. Elisabeth Shrine: The Elisabeth shrine is the most valuable treasure of St. Elizabeth’s Church and served in the 13th century as a reliquary for the remains of Saint Elizabeth. It is made of wood, clad in gilded copper and silver, and was originally adorned with hundreds of gemstones, reflecting its importance as a major pilgrimage destination. Particularly striking is the contrast between Elizabeth’s modest life and the exceptionally lavish design of the shrine, which ranks among the most important works of art of its time.
  16. High Altar: The high altar is located in the eastern choir and was consecrated in 1290. At the center of the Gothic stone altar, a large carved niche opens to reveal a depiction of Mary crowned by angels. Additional figures of saints stand alongside it, some of which were reconstructed in the 19th century. The altar was most likely originally intended to house the Elisabeth shrine.
  17. Landgrave’s Choir: The southern choir served for centuries as the burial place of the Hessian landgraves. Large stone tomb monuments stand at the center of the space, while memorials line the walls, including the oldest one dedicated to Conrad of Thuringia. Conrad of Thuringia was the brother-in-law of Saint Elizabeth, Landgrave of Thuringia, and a member of the Teutonic Order. After her death, he transferred the Marburg hospital to the order and played a decisive role in promoting the construction of St. Elizabeth’s Church. This use came to an end with the Reformation, as changing religious conditions also transformed the burial traditions of the ruling house.
  18. Tomb of Paul von Hindenburg: The chapel of the north tower of St. Elizabeth’s Church also contains the graves of former Reich President Paul von Hindenburg and his wife Gertrud. Hindenburg was a Prussian-German officer who rose to national prominence as a field marshal during World War I and served as Reich President from 1925 until his death in 1934, shaping the politically unstable final phase of the Weimar Republic. Personally, he remained distant from and often critical of Adolf Hitler for a long time and was not a committed supporter. Nevertheless, he appointed him Chancellor on January 30, 1933, believing he could integrate and control him politically. In doing so, he played a decisive role in the end of the Weimar democracy. His remains were moved from East Prussia for safekeeping in 1945 and were buried in St. Elizabeth’s Church in 1946.
  19. Stained Glass Windows: The stained glass windows of St. Elizabeth’s Church are among its most significant features and bring together artistic works from several centuries. Particularly valuable are the medieval choir windows from the 13th and early 14th centuries, including the famous Elisabeth window. This late Romanesque stained glass window from before 1250 depicts scenes from the life of Saint Elizabeth and her acts of charity and is located in the eastern choir as the lower right window of the high choir. The historic collection is complemented by more recent windows that deliberately create a contrast with the medieval glasswork.
  20. Events: Today, St. Elizabeth’s Church is an important center for classical church music and a regular venue for concerts, organ performances, and choral events. It also maintains a close connection to Philipps University of Marburg, particularly through performances by the university choir.
  21. “Michelchen” Chapel: Opposite St. Elizabeth’s Church in Marburg stands the small Gothic St. Michael’s Chapel, known as “Michelchen,” which was consecrated around 1270 and originally served as a pilgrims’ and cemetery chapel. After the Reformation, it gradually fell into disrepair and was at times even used as a goat stable and storage space. Only through several restoration efforts, including the installation of an organ in 1962 and a comprehensive roof renovation in 2020, was it restored and brought back to life.
  • Marburg, Elisabethkirche. St. Elizabeth church in Marburg, Hesse. Germany. Medieval church was built by the Order of the Teutonic Knights in honour of St. Elizabeth.