Heiliggeistkirche (Church of the Holy Spirit), Heidelberg

With public spectacles of punishment now a thing of the past, crowds gather instead over beer and coffee in the central Market Square. At its heart stands the 15th-century Gothic Church of the Holy Spirit, topped by a Baroque mansard roof. Traders’ stalls are ingeniously fitted between its buttresses, continuing a medieval tradition once widespread throughout the region.

Begin by walking into the centre of Market Square to observe the church’s imposing red-sandstone exterior and the small merchant stalls built into its base between the buttresses. The church’s southern façade also features some strikingly grotesque gargoyles.

One intriguing aspect of this grand church is its long history of shared use by Catholics and Protestants. For more than two centuries, a brick wall physically divided the interior. It was finally removed in 1936, after which the church became exclusively Protestant.

History has not been kind to this venerable building. During the Thirty Years’ War, it was plundered by the Catholic League and lost its greatest treasure: the Palatine Library, then Germany’s largest collection of books and manuscripts. Its contents were loaded onto nearly 200 carts and pack animals and transported to the Vatican, with only a fraction later returning to Heidelberg. Once inside the church, look up towards the upper galleries, where the manuscripts were once stored before being carried away as spoils of war.

In the late 17th century, French troops ravaged the church once again, destroying many of its tombs. Only the 15th-century tomb of Elector Rupert III and his wife, Elisabeth of Hohenzollern, survived intact. Amid the widespread destruction around the square, the House of the Knight was the only private residence to remain standing. For the final highlight, approach the choir to view the surviving Late Gothic tomb slab of Elector Rupert III and his wife.

During concerts, the magnificent organ, located near the choir on the northern wall of the nave, often takes centre stage.