St. Valentin Cemetery Chapel Unterleiterbach

On October 25, 1500, the auxiliary bishop of Bamberg, Hieronymus von Reitzenstein, consecrated the church at this point in honor of St. Bishop Valentine, the Virgin Mary, St. Cross and other saints a small (7.5 x 10.5m) half-timbered chapel. A wayside shrine may already have stood there, perhaps even a smaller predecessor building. The Holy Year 1500 is likely to have given the impetus for its construction. Perhaps the pilgrimage to Rome also played a role, coming from Erfurt via Coburg and Bamberg towards Nuremberg.
The dilapidation of the half-timbered chapel and the general desire to build at the time gave rise to the idea of a new building as early as the 1830s. Construction began on May 11, 1738.

Surrounded by a prince-bishop's chausee, on the northern outskirts of Unterleiterbach, there is a building which, thanks to its special architectural design, is undoubtedly of high art-historical value: the Valentinikapelle - a gem of late baroque country churches. Legends surround the small chapel, which also has an exciting history.
The legend revolves around the figure of St. Valentine in the Valentine's Chapel - if you look closely you can see a slight displacement of the head to the rest of the body. According to a legend, the figure comes from the precursor chapel. In 1605 there was a break-in and robbers are said to have cut off St. Valentine's head and thrown it into the Main. Zapfendorfer fishermen are said to have found and recovered the shining head in the river. This legend is said to be proof of why the head is slightly offset in relation to the body.