St. Peter's Church, Heidelberg

The earliest precursor of St. Peter's Church had already been built by the twelfth century, before the foundation of Heidelberg itself.

It first appears in the sources in 1196 with the mention of a "plebanus Kunrad zu heidelberch, that is a parish priest named Konrad, based at Heidelberg.

The name of the church indicates a connection with Worms Cathedral, which also stands under the patronage of St Peter.

From 1400, St. Peter's Church, St Laurentius' [de] in Altdorf bei Nürnberg,[1] and St. James' [de] in Lauda-Königshofen[2] were the proprietary churches of the University of Heidelberg; they were withdrawn from the control of their diocesan bishops and placed immediately under the authority of the Pope.

[3] After Maximilian I took power in Heidelberg, the Dominican Johann Andreas Coppenstein [de] served as Catholic parish priest of the church from 1624 to 1630.

The foundation stone of the new structure was laid on 16 March 1485 by Alexander Bellendörfer [de] (died 1512), the chancellor and prothonotary of Electoral Palatinate, whose epitaph is also preserved in the church.

In 2004/5, an elaborate renovation of the interior was carried out, including a new altar, pulpit, baptismal font, Easter candlestick, and a free-standing cross in the choir, made by the artist Matthias Eder [de] out of COR-TEN steel.

Three windows are located in the southern side-chapel, the "University chapel" with the themes of "encounter," "resurrection," and "persecution."

[5] Numerous professors are buried in the church, including Marsilius of Inghen, the founding rector of the university.

There are around a hundred and fifty epitaphs of university professors and members of the Electorate court on the inner and outer walls of the church.

An honorific plaque in the southern side chapel commemorates the poet and humanist Olympia Fulvia Morata.