Lübeck — Part Two

The Holy Ghost Hospital (Heiligen-Geist-Hospital) in Lübeck was built in 1286 and looks today much as it did then. It housed a monastic foundation that rendered charity to the sick and needy.

Eventually the Hospital was converted into an old age home. These wooden cubicles were built in 1820 and inhabited by older persons living on charity up till 1970. Note the fine medieval roof.

Inside the nearby St Jakobi-Kirche, whose war-battered tower is seen as it was around 1980, are found two of Germany's most interesting organs.

In these badly faded pictures you can see first the Friedrich Stellwagen transept organ from 1636-37. It incorporates Gothic pipes from the 15th century, making it one of the oldest instruments in Germany.

An excellent sound sample of the Stellwagen organ can be heard here.

The Great Organ in the Jakobi-Kirche appeared in different versions between 1466 and 1740.

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