On New Year's Day 1827 it was written:
"When we count 1673, a wonderfully beautiful red ball was seen in the sky here at St. Nicholas on the Hill, which then changed into a rosary, this was reported by believing people. May it be to God and to his dear mother Mary honor always. Amen." (On the occasion of the inventory of the parish and parish archives, the inconspicuous piece of paper with this text was found in the papers of Pastor Melchior Muff. It is a copy of a tablet writing found in the River Chapel).
The river chapel was subsequently built in 1678 by the farmer Niklaus Anderes, in Rüteli near den Stöcken, at its current location. Many people prefer the area on the border between Nottwil and Ruswil to enjoy the peace and quiet and the view.
The chapel founder also built the Waldbruderhaus near the chapel on the Ruswil site in 1815, which was inhabited by hermits from the Hermit Congregation until 1914. They looked after and decorated the chapel and rang the English greeting three times a day. In 1798 the chapel building was renovated inside and out.
The hermit house was sold in 1916 to the then pastor for the benefit of the auxiliary trust foundation, which in turn sold the house to the owner of the "Flüss" property in 1933.
In the hope that the toothache would be relieved, suffering pilgrims used to bite into the benches or even cut off pieces of wood to chew on. In 1918 the badly damaged benches had to be replaced with new ones.
The chapel was torn down in 1947 due to its dilapidation. In 1948, after countless hours of hard labor and with money collected, the new chapel, which is still well preserved today, was built on the same site using the polished stones of the old chapel.
Not only the chapel, but also the two mighty lime trees in front of the chapel shape the image of the river. Linden trees were already a symbol of peace in pagan times. The younger tree, which towers over the older one, was planted exactly a hundred years ago because people feared that violent storms and storms could tear the old, 200-year-old linden tree to the ground. Now both old and young stand on the same level and symbolize the beauty and power of nature, the effects of which cannot always be calculated in advance.