Collegiate Church, Gothic church in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany

The Collegiate Church is a Gothic church in the center of Neustadt an der Weinstraße, built in the 14th century, with two choirs placed at opposite ends of the nave. Inside, pointed arches and ribbed vaults run the length of the building, and large stained-glass windows line the walls.

Construction began in the early 14th century under the Elector Ruprecht I of the Palatinate, who also founded a collegiate foundation there. After the Reformation, the building became a simultaneum, shared between Catholic and Protestant communities.

Since 1705 the choir has belonged to the Catholics and the nave to the Protestants, separated by a wall built in 1707/08. The Catholics' Baroque high altar has a yellow-glass gloriole modelled on the altar of St Peter's apse in Rome. The name Liebfrauenkirche recalls the Virgin Mary, patroness of the Wittelsbachs, while St Giles became a secondary patron.

The church stands in the center of Neustadt an der Weinstraße and is easy to reach on foot from the main square. Visiting during the day is a good idea, as daylight brings out the colors of the stained-glass windows.

The tombs of founder Ruprecht I and his wife Beatrix of Berg lie in the central aisle of the eastern choir, the present Catholic part, marked by bronze inscriptions. Rudolf II, who wished to be buried here, was laid in 1353 in the altar area of the old parish church; his second wife Margaret of Sicily-Aragon followed him there in 1377, directly beneath today's dividing wall.