The castle chapel of Pfäffikon
The castle chapel of Pfäffikon. The place name Pfäffikon means "court of the priest". It is assumed that there was a building here on the shore of Lake Zurich, in which the clergyman who looked after the island of Ufenau lived, together with the associated area. The castle and the chapel, like the island of Ufenau, have belonged to the Einsiedeln monastery for centuries.
Anselm von Schwanden, abbot of Einsiedeln Abbey from 1233 to 1266, had the thick tower built, which we can still see here today. It is believed that the tower served primarily as a granary for the monastery's growing agricultural crops. In the early 14th century, the town bailiff of Rapperswil attacked the storage tower in Pfäffikon, but the local population of Rapperswil then stopped him from plundering it. As a result of this raid, the tower was reinforced with a moat.
Today's chapel dedicated to Saint Eustace was consecrated in 1568. Eustace is an early Christian martyr who died around 118 AD.
In 1798, French troops plundered the church. The present interior dates from the late 19th century. The neo-baroque altars were created in the monastery workshop in Einsiedeln. The canteen of the high altar now serves as a people's altar. The relics of Saint Pope Clement of Rome are said to be in this canteen. A look at the left side altar brings us back to the island of Ufenau. Here we see relics of St. Adalrich, who - as we have heard - worked as a priest on the island in the 10th century.

Source / Literature:
Buschor Oechslin, Anja: The art monuments of the canton of Schwyz. Volume 4: The District Courts. New edition. Bern. Published by the Society for Swiss Art History. 2010. 379 pages with illustrations and index. Linen with dust jacket. Series: The art monuments of Switzerland; volume 118

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Paul

October 1, 2022

Castle Chapel of Pfäffikon (in honor of St. Eustace)
A chapel of the Weissenburg is attested in the sources as early as the 15th century. In 1566-68 the hermit prince-abbot Joachim Eichhorn and the governor of Pfäffikon Wolfgang Kalchofner had a free-standing church built at the entrance to the palace complex with an attached gate building. On November 7, 1568 the consecration of the chapel took place.
In 1606 a turret was built, and in 1691-1696 a major renovation was already necessary. A second baroque renovation of the church took place in 1780-85. When the palace grounds were occupied by Napoleon's troops in 1798, most of the chapel was devastated, making extensive renovation work necessary.
Between 1892 and 1895 the interior received its present appearance under Abbot Basil Oberholzer and governor Dominik Matter, which underwent some changes during its last renovation in 1928. During the renovation of 1986-88, the condition at the end of the 19th century was essentially restored.
Text/Source: Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlossanlage_Pf%C3%A4ffikon

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