Saint Jean church Feldkirch

The Johanniterkirche stands beside the market street in Feldkirch, a town in Vorarlberg. Built in the early 13th century as a commandery church for the Knights of St John, it later became a cultural venue. The building is protected as a historic monument and now hosts exhibitions of contemporary art. The church has survived wars, floods and changes of use. In 1799 French troops damaged it during the Napoleonic Wars. After serving as a stable and salt store, it became a school chapel in the 19th century. Archaeologists opened the floor between 1983 and 1986, uncovering six floor levels and 25 graves. Since 1995 it has been a gallery, showing four shows each year under curator Eva Jakob. Inside, the ceiling bears a painted roundel dated 1405. A late-19th-century tower houses the clock figure ‘Bläsi’, who strikes a bell with a hammer. The church’s exterior shows phases from Romanesque to Gothic, with a steep roof towards the market and a lower roof along Johannitergasse. The building’s long history and exposed archaeological layers give it a distinctive character.