Ahorn Chapel

Legend about the holy Maria in the maple
At the time of the great Reformation in the old Confederation, in the spring of 1528, a shepherd named Zumbühl from the Catholic Büren earned his living tending a flock of sheep in the (Reformed) Bernese Haslital, which was being hit by iconoclasm at the time. The young shepherd rescued a figure of Mary with a child from the church, which he then devoutly venerated and took home with him at the end of the season. The following year he again tended a flock of sheep, but this time in Niederrickenbach. Again he took his Mary with him and placed her in a hollow maple tree where she was protected and he could pray undisturbed. When the summer was over and he was supposed to return to the valley, the statue could no longer be removed from the tree. Many other acquaintances tried to help the shepherd, but no one could bring his Maria back to him. After asking for advice, it was decided to build a chapel dedicated to Mary where she could be kept safe and reverently venerated. It was only when this chapel was completed that Mary was removed from the old maple tree. So it was placed in its new church, where it still stands after the last expansion in 1869.

Relatively modern chapel. The neighboring maple mountain restaurant is open in winter from Fri to Sun.

Right next to the Berggasthaus Ahorn.