The Hospital of the Holy Spirit in Blaubeuren

For many centuries the Hospital of the Holy Spirit was one of the most important establishments in Blaubeuren. It was donated by Hans Russ in the year 1420. Hans Russ was the vicar general of the Bishop of Constance, but he originated from Blaubeuren and was related to the Blaubeuren Dean Konrad Klett, whom he charged with the foundation of the hospital. It was, however, under the supervision of the Bishop of Constance.

In the Middle Ages a hospital was not like a hospital as we know it, but an almshouse for the poor. They led a communal life there, but they had to bow to the discipline of the hospital custodian and no longer had any private property. In addition to the poor, old, sick or handicapped people, widows and orphans who had no relatives who could look after them were also cared for. However, there were also richer people among them, whose wealth was then inherited by the hospital and therefore such people were willingly accepted. For example, in the year 1609 there were 60 people who were being looked after in the hospital.

The hospital also had its own chapel. The historical mural paintings in this chapel still exist today. In the year 1600 another storey was added above the chapel, with two corner oriels as well as a connecting building. The hospital administration was situated in the upper storey, especially in the “Herrenstube” (study). Downstairs in the chapel the hospital and town archives are now housed. There had long been a second chapel in the hospital, which had in the meantime spread over several buildings.

People were cared for in the hospital up to the year 2008. In the 1930s it was amalgamated with the Blaubeuren “Bürgerhaus” (Citizens’ House), so that it then became an Old People’s Home. Since 1964, the Prehistoric Museum of Blaubeuren has been housed in the west wing of the building. At first the museum only had one room at its disposal. Several building alterations made it possible to steadily extend and redesign the museum exhibition. During the last conversion from 2009 to 2012 the Prehistoric Museum was also extended to the north wing of the hospital building. Here the finds from excavations are exhibited, which lead through the thousands-of-years old history of human habitation on the Swabian Alb. Exceptional cave finds, which are considered to be some of the earliest known witnesses of art history, can also be seen here.