Vereinigte Hospitien

The Vereinigte Hospitien, or United Hospices is an ancient charitable organization, whose history goes back to Roman times. The Emperor Constantine had cellars built in Trier which later became first a palace and then an Abbey. The Abbey was secularized at the end of the 18th Century, but a few years later, Napoleon consolidated all the various hospitals, leper houses, orphnagaes etc in Trier and formed the Vereinigte Hospitien, which still contains a nunnery and is continuing to contribute to medical nursing and social welfare of the area. The products of the vineyard and winery help finance the charity, though unlike its counterpart in Burgundy (Hospice de Beaune), it does not hold an annual auction.

All its wines carry the picture of St James (Sanctus Jacobus) with his staff and the pilgrims shell on the label, recalling the St James Public Hospital of the Middle Ages, originally a pilgrim's hostel for those journeying to the tomb of St James in Santiago de Compostela. The first mention of Sanctus Jacobus wines goes back to 1464.

BTW, the scallop shell was a symbol of pilgrims (especially those journeying to St James' tomb) since the Middle Ages. This association can also be noted in French as scallops are coquilles St Jacques. St Peter has the John Dory (St-Pierre in French) and one story has it that the dark spots on its sides are St Peter's thumb prints.