The invention concerns an ignition system for internal combustion engines with stationary high-voltage distribution and comprising at least one ignition coil (11). A controllable switch (12) is arranged in series with the primary winding (10) and can be controlled by a control unit (13). At least one high-voltage four-layer diode (HKD) comprising a plurality of four-layer diode chips is arranged in each secondary ignition branch between the high-voltage end of the secondary winding (14) and a spark plug (ZK1, ZK2, ... ZKn). A switch controlled by the control unit during the ignition coil charging process enables a conditioning current to pass through the high-voltage four-layer diode (HKD) and inundate the blocking area with charge carriers (38) in the high-voltage four-layer diode.