Historical projects

The missionary Kaspar Castner was a Jesuit from Ingolstadt, who traveled to China in 1696. His main task was to teach the bible during this Ming imperial empire. This was not easy, because at that time foreigners were not allowed to enter China. After all, he managed successfully to work at the emperor’s court and became an astronomer and mathematician. He took special care of the scientific education of the imperial princes in these subjects. In 1700, he placed his ordeal vow in the church of Foshan, which is twinned with Ingolstadt. The same year Kaspar Castner had also the task of erecting a memorial monument at the place where Saint Francisco de Xavier died. This was on the island of Shangchuan Dao, which is located about 200 km south of Foshan in the South China Sea. In this research project we want to find out more about the historical significance of the Ingolstadt Jesuit for the partner city Foshan.

Further projects are being planned.