Holy Spirit Hospital

From 1863, the historic Heilig-Geist-Spital was used as a restaurant - a tradition that continues to this day under the name Heiliggeist. Today, it is part of the cultural heritage of the city of Mainz and, as a restaurant, bar and event venue, impressively combines history with lively hospitality.

Oldest citizens' hospital

Red sandstone walls behind which the past still seems palpable. An imposing cross vault that lends the interior an almost sacred atmosphere. This is what makes Germany's oldest civic hospital so impressive. When it was built in 1236, it served as accommodation for pilgrims, the poor, the elderly, and the sick.

Locals and tourists alike appreciate the unique charm of this venerable building. The Heilig-Geist, now a restaurant, café, and bar, is a particularly impressive venue that is definitely worth a visit.

Heilig-Geist-Spital at a glance

Facts, figures and data

Historical

The building was constructed in 1236. At the request of the citizens of Mainz, Archbishop Siegfried III decided to relocate the Holy Spirit Hospital, located near the cathedral, to the banks of the Rhine.

Utilization

The hospitals of the Middle Ages were not what we might imagine them to be today. The Holy Spirit was a multi-purpose facility, a kind of "mixed institution." Pilgrims and homeless people, strangers and the poor, the elderly—and also the sick—lived here, although the latter were probably in the minority. Therefore, their care was not the main focus. Presumably, the lower floor was reserved for men, while women were accommodated on the upper floor.

Since public charity was a purely ecclesiastical matter in those days, the care of the inmates was in the hands of the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit. This included both men and women who had taken monastic vows and committed themselves to serving the Holy Spirit for the rest of their lives (Dr. Ludwig Falck).

The special location of the building, half of which protruded beyond the city wall on the Rhine side in the 13th century, allowed late arrivals to still enter the hospital through the east portal even after the city gates had been closed.

This custom was maintained later, after the city wall was relocated, via a small door on its southeast side. The unusual course of the city wall also required the patrolling guards on their way from the Iron Tower to the Fish Gate to pass through a doorway on the upper floor of the hospital in order to reach the continuation of the wall through another door.

Reconstruction at the end of the 15th century

As early as 1244, administration of the hospital was transferred to the now free city, but with the loss of the city's freedom in 1462, it fell back to the church, which converted the building into a retirement home for women. Under the new old masters, the interior of the building was partially rebuilt in the late Gothic period at the end of the 15th century. The Romanesque windows were also replaced by tall Gothic windows.

Changing use

In 1804, the French ordered the closure of the older hospitals in Mainz. In the period that followed, the Heilig-Geist-Spital served various purposes, even being used as a warehouse and for physical education classes.

In 1863, Brey'sche Aktien-Brauerei opened a restaurant there for the first time. At that time, the hospital was owned by the German Catholic community, which held its services on the upper floor of the building. In 1888, it was sold to Mainzer Aktienbrauerei.

Second World War and reconstruction

During the British Air Force's air raid on Mainz on February 27, 1945, the entire city center burned. The Heilig-Geist was also engulfed in flames. However, the damage was limited. The greatest damage was to the roof, which was rebuilt shortly after the end of the war.

In the 1950s, the Heilig-Geist was a popular dance hall. Restoration work beginning in 1975 uncovered the hospital, which had been considerably built up and enclosed

on the Rhine side in previous centuries. In an effort to restore the building to its original Romanesque state, however, the late Gothic elements of the exterior, including the tracery windows, were also removed.