Konviktskirche (Ehingen)

The Konviktskirche stands at the northern edge of Ehingen’s old town in the Regierungsbezirk Tübingen. Built as the college church for a Benedictine-run grammar school founded in 1686, its unusual north-facing orientation comes from being joined to the school building on its north-east side. A stretch of the former town wall runs beside the church and school, beyond which the Groggental valley opens out with its small lake and the Schmiech river, while the town garden lies nearby. The church is one of Germany’s earliest dedicated to the Sacred Heart, consecrated in 1719 by the Vicar-General of Constance. After lightning struck the tower in 1769 the building stood for over a century under a temporary roof. In 1802 it lost most of its rich furnishings during the secularisation, becoming a granary until 1841 when it reopened as the Konviktskirche for school services. A major 19th-century restoration stabilised the dome and returned a few original furnishings. Inside, the Greek-cross plan centres on a shallow dome painted with the Sacred Heart surrounded by four archangels holding the instruments of the Passion. The walls, recently whitened, show restored ceiling frescoes by Johann Georg Bergmüller and Melchior Paulus. A new organ by Späth of Ennetach now occupies the north-east wall, and the marble steps lead up to the altar beneath the dome. The glass-walled porch at the southern entrance lets visitors glimpse the nave even when the church is closed.