Schweinheimer Kirchel Chapel

The abandoned village of Schweinheim with the chapel that emerged from the then remaining church is a place of power for many. The ending Heim indicates a Frankish foundation. The place was not deserted, as is so often the case in the area, because of the Rhine, which washed away settlements from time to time. No, there was a time when people sought shelter from roving bands of thieves in fortified places. One such was with Jockgrim nearby. The residents of Schweinheim moved there and took the stones from their houses with them. Only the church remained and later became a place of pilgrimage.

Southwest of Jockgrim on the edge of the Bienwald is a Romanesque chapel, the "Schweinheimer Kirchel". Until the 15th century the mother church of Jockgrim, it served as a cemetery chapel until the 18th century.
The Schweinheimer Kirchel was first mentioned in 1051 when Emperor Heinrich III. gave it to the bishops of Speyer with the village of Schweinheim. The "Jochgrim" settlement was probably founded in the Schweinheim area towards the end of the 12th century. In the 14th century, numerous Schweinheimers settled in the fortified Jockgrim and also took the stones for their houses with them as building material. The Schweinheimer Kirchel is the only remnant of the Franconian settlement of Schweinheim.
It is consecrated to Saint Pancras and the Blessed Mother Mary and has become a popular place of pilgrimage. The pilgrimage probably goes back to the people's attachment to the former mother church, in which a black image of Our Lady has been venerated since ancient times. To promote the pilgrimage, Pope Leo XIII. 1892 indulgences to the pilgrims. Pilgrimage and church survived all storms of time; on the feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary (July 2nd), the main day of pilgrimage, hundreds gather at this pilgrimage site every year. Outside there are benches and a Lourdes grotto.
Literature: Wanted ... and found - selected places of pilgrimage in the diocese of Speyer

An enchanting place. Today the chapel was open.
The colorful stained glass windows shine with all their red tones. Today I was very lucky to see this play of colors.