The church of the Teutonic Order, or church of Saint George in Weggenstein (in German St. Georg in Weggenstein or Deutschhaus), is a Gothic church in Bolzano dedicated to Saint George, patron of the Order together with Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
What to see
Inside the church are the symbols of the Order, the so-called Aufschwörschilder, a polychrome marble altar, valuable art objects and an altarpiece by Martin Knoller, a decorator from the Wipptal, who also made the Baroque church of Sant'Agostino in the Muri-Gries abbey complex. The characteristic late Gothic tower, erected in 1500 by Heinrich von Knöringen, was destroyed by a bombing during the Second World War and rebuilt in 1991-1992 to a design by the Bolzano architect Hanns von Klebelsberg.
The Order was born at the time of the Crusades and was made up of monks and knights from the German-speaking area. Bolzano, the main seat of the Bailiwick of the Teutonic Order on the Adige and in the Mountains, was an important base because of its position on the road between the north and south of Europe, which the knights were charged with watching over. In 1202 they built a church and a hospice there near the Isarco, below the Virgolo; after various floods they moved to the present via Weggenstein, beside the castle of the same name, which became the regional seat of the order. The present church dates from 1392 and was built in respect of the German Gothic tradition; the area beside it was bought by the commandery of Weggenstein in the 15th century. During the peasant revolt led by Michael Gaismair, in 1525, part of the complex was damaged; the Baroque rebuilding, in the early 18th century, was the work of the Landkomtur Baron Johann Heinrich von Kagenegg. The Deutschhaus was gravely damaged in the Second World War.
Visiting
The church is in via Weggenstein, in Bolzano; opening hours and access to the interior should be checked, because the sources consulted do not give them.
Our editors' tip
Look for Martin Knoller's altarpiece and the Aufschwörschilder, the symbols of the Order: Knoller also decorated the church of Sant'Agostino at Muri-Gries in Bolzano.
