Jesuit Church

On 7 December 2018, Bishop Stephan Ackermann banished the Society of Jesus from the city and the bishopric of Trier, ending a long and turbulent history. The Society of Jesus was first called to Trier in 1560 to re-establish Catholicism following the failed (in Trier) attempt at reformation.

They preserved the Church of the Franciscan Order, which had been operating in the city for some 300 years – even though the church today continues to bear the name of the Jesuits, it is one of the oldest preserved Franciscan churches in Germany. And the Jesuit modifications are indeed barely visible from the outside. The magnificent tracery on the western gate in particular dates back to the 14th century.

A must for: Gothic enthusiasts. Crypt-goers. Poets, priests and scholars.

Middle Ages: 70%
St Mary: 30%
Tracery: 30%

PSSSST! THE INSIDER TIP:
The interior courtyard of the Episcopal Seminary contains a crypt housing the remains of Friedrich Spee, a Jesuit priest and professor, who, in the early 17th century, made a name for himself not only as the writer of hymns still known today, but also as a critic of the witch trials that were occurring at the time – even though his opus magnum Cautio Criminalis was initially published anonymously. In it, he presented the theory (which legal opinions at the time considered shocking) that torture would not result in reliable confessions, and that the belief in witches in general needed to be questioned. His work played a significant role in the subsequent abolition of witch trials. The key to the tomb can be obtained at the gate, though this is only manned on weekdays.