Foundation (part 1)

The Order's inspiration was the hospital founded by German pilgrims and crusaders between 1120 and 1128 but destroyed following the fall of Jerusalem in 1187. During the Third Crusade two years later a new hospital was built outside Acre to assist those wounded in the siege. The hospital was constructed on a plot near the Saint Nicholas gate from the timbers and sails of the ships that had transported german knights to the Holy Land.

The order adopted a name “Order of the German House of St. Mary in Jerusalem” where Virgin Mary is principal Patron. The knights later adopted Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, as their second patron.