The "Great Holy Cross" was founded in 1254 as a hospice for poor pilgrims passing through Goslar, a kind of medieval combination of soup kitchen and short-stay lodging. The current half-timbered building on Hoher Weg dates from the late fifteenth century and is one of the longest surviving guildhall-style structures in the old town. The chapel on the ground floor, with its sandstone columns and painted ceiling, is the architectural showpiece.
Walk into the courtyard — entry is free during the day — and you find a working artists' colony. Goldsmiths, ceramicists, and printmakers rent the upper-floor rooms from the foundation that still administers the property, and most are open to visitors when their lights are on. The cumulative effect is one of the more surprising corners of Goslar.