The Church of St. Godehard in Eschwege, Germany, was abandoned during the Protestant Reformation and demolished in the late 16th century.
Thomas KurellaThe foundation of the medieval church discovered beneath a parking lot in Eschwege, Germany.
The demolition of a parking lot in preparation for the construction of a new public park in Eschwege, Germany, recently revealed the foundation of a medieval church — and the graves of dozens of young children.
The ruins were once part of the Church of St. Godehard, a 14th-century structure named after a German bishop and saint. The church was abandoned during the Protestant Reformation and demolished in the late 1500s, and the area where it once stood was eventually paved over to create a parking lot. Now, centuries later, the building is revealing its heart-wrenching history.
Archaeologists Discover A Forgotten Medieval Church
Thomas KurellaA view of the medieval church’s limestone foundation.
Construction workers recently set out to demolish a parking lot in Eschwege, a town in central Germany, to build a new green space with benches and fountains. During the project, archaeologists on the site identified the limestone foundation of an old building.
Based on historical evidence, experts identified the structure as the Church of St. Godehard, a medieval church named after Gotthard of Hildesheim, a German bishop who later became a saint.
The church first appears in historical records in 1340. During the Protestant Reformation, however, it was abandoned, and by the late 16th century, it had been demolished, with only its tower left behind. Archaeologists believe that the church likely sits on top of even older Christian structures, but there are currently no plans to excavate further due to costs and damage risks.
For now, researchers are focusing on the impressive stone walls of the medieval church. “Such stones were quite expensive in the Middle Ages,” lead archaeologist Anja Rutter stated in a press release. “They must have been brought here over the water with some effort. Someone spent a lot of money on this. This is a well-built and solid church.”
However, the walls aren’t the only remains researchers found on the site.
Why Were There So Many Children’s Graves At St. Godehard?
Thomas KurellaArchaeologists excavate the ruins of the Church of St. Godehard.
During excavations, archaeologists also unearthed at least 30 graves of infants and young children, including newborns. “We have two burials where the legs are spread out as if they had been buried in diapers. That’s really a bit sad. Someone really cried about them 400 years ago,” Rutter explained.
The burials were found clustered together just outside the walls of the church, leading experts to speculate that they were “eaves children.” During the Middle Ages, some parents would bury their children where the rain would drip from the church roof onto their graves as “baptismal water,” providing spiritual protection after death.
There could be other reasons for the location of the graves, too. As Rutter explained, “The closer you bury the dead to the altar area, the greater the chances that the responsible saint will come to his church on Judgement Day and collect the souls at the same time.” What’s more, if the children died before they were baptized, they couldn’t be buried on consecrated ground, so parents placed their graves as close to sacred areas as possible.
Thomas KurellaThe shattered remains of a child’s skull found outside the walls of the church.
These discoveries offer a deeper understanding of medieval spiritual practices, and researchers are hopeful that by opening the excavation site to the public, they can help the town reconnect with its historical roots.
This April, the site will host “Open Excavation Day,” allowing residents to visit and explore the findings firsthand. Afterward, construction of the park will continue, but special display boards and possibly even a model of the church will remain on-site to keep visitors engaged with the rich history beneath their feet.
After reading about the medieval church found beneath a German parking lot, learn about nine strange medieval customs. Then, read about the dancing plague of 1518, the strange epidemic that swept the city of Strasbourg.
