Gangolf chapel with fountain house
Gangolf was a knight in the court of the Merovingian King Pepin. His veneration as a source and horse saint experienced a first peak in the 11th century. The Wolpertswender Gangolfsbrunnen was first mentioned in the 17th century.
In 1695, today's hexagonal chapel was built over a spring, presumably by adding a little fountain house to the sanctuary. Today the altar is decorated with figures of the chapel patron Gangolf and St. Appolonia and St. agatha The painting with the so-called well sample, which once served as an altarpiece, is an early work by Anton Sohn (1769-1841) from 1790.
Until the 19th century, the chapel was an important pilgrimage destination for local farmers, who nailed horseshoes to the chapel door in gratitude for healing their animals. The original spring dried up in 1924 after a pipe damage. During the renovation of the chapel in 2013-2015, the source under the chapel was redrawn so that today the splashing of the water can be heard and seen again.
The attached hermitage was inhabited by several hermits one after the other until the end of the 18th century. Later it served the nun Viktoria Hecht (1840-1890), the "stigmatized from Wolpertswende" as a residential building and sickbed.
As part of an extensive renovation from 2013-2015, the foundations of the chapel were rebuilt. Beams were recovered from the foundation that date from 1616. In 2015, the Wolpertswende carver Peter Hecht made a cross for the high altar of the chapel from one of these beams.
The Gangolf Chapel is part of the Chapel Trail "between Schussen and Seen". The chapel and fountain house are open during the day.
At Gangolfsfest there is a solemn procession from the church to the chapel. With various services and other activities, it is filled with spiritual and cultural life during the summer months.
Source of the homepage of the Catholic parish of the Birth of Mary in Mochenwangen