St. John the Baptist Chapel (Hirschwald)

Castle chapel of St. John BaptistA church belonging to the Hirschwald hunting lodge is mentioned here in 1456, but it is probably older because of its Romanesque remains. This St. Johannes Baptist chapel is now called the “Hunting Chapel”. Since the end of the 15th century, a service for the “Waid pile” has been held on every 4th Sunday of the month by a priest from the Ensdorf monastery.
Even after the castle was sold to the forester Carl Huber in 1738, the church remained in the possession of the forestry administration. A fundamental renovation was carried out between 1736 and 1738 and the church was rededicated in 1740. The forester Carl Huber founded a Stations of the Cross for the “electoral hunting band” in 1786; he was also buried here.
The church has a retracted square choir with a ridged cross vault. The nave has a barrel vault with stitch caps that rests on yokes. The church is crowned by an onion dome.
The main altar with two columns is decorated with foliage and ribbonwork ornaments, the skin depicted the patron saint of the church. On the side are the holy figures of St. Hubertus and St. Eustace. There is also a depiction of Anna Selbdritt in the church. An Electoral Palatinate coat of arms from 1730 is attached to the cornice. The organ is decorated with acanthus carvings.
There are several epitaphs inside the church: one is dedicated to Johann Adam Thanhauser, electoral forester, and his wife Anna Christina. Raymund Thanhauser, the above father and forester of Hirschwald for 40 years, is also remembered here. A second gravestone is erected for Walb Aloysia Countess von Butler.
Over time, the church was renovated several times, the last renovation taking place in 1968–1972. At that time, a previously unknown brick vault was found under the floor slabs in the chancel, in which an intact pine coffin with the remains of a 145 cm tall girl was found. There is no reliable information about its origin. It probably belonged to the electoral family.Source: Excerpts from wikipedia.de