St. Elizabeth's Church

Elisabethkirche rises in Marburg as a three-aisled Gothic hall church with twin towers reaching about eighty metres. Its unusual clover-shaped choir gives the interior a distinctive silhouette. Built between 1235 and 1283, the church stands above the tomb of Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia. The German Order created this pilgrimage church around her grave.

Elizabeth died in 1231 and received canonisation four years later, drawing pilgrims to Marburg. Her shrine remains the spiritual centre of the church today. Thirteenth-century stained-glass windows show scenes from her life through colour and light. The Elizabeth Altar and Mary Altar add early sixteenth-century carvings by Ludwig Juppe. A bronze crucifix by Ernst Barlach offers a striking modern contrast beside the choir screen.

The church also served as a burial place for Hessian landgraves and remains a parish church. Services, prayers and concerts connect its medieval architecture with living sacred music. Restoration work has revealed that the Gothic interior was once far brighter, with pink walls, white joints, and ochre details. Look towards the adjacent square, where paving still traces the ground plan of Elizabeth’s former hospital.