Falkenstein Chapel

In 1275, the records of the diocese of Constance first mention a parish of souls in Valkenstein, which belonged to the lords of Falkenstein and Ramstein in the Middle Ages as a church of their own under the patrocinium of Saint Erasmus.

Destruction and reconstruction

In 1634, the building was destroyed in the course of the Thirty Years' War during battles between Swedish Württemberg troops under General Horn and the imperial soldiers of Field Marshal Johann von Werth. Almost a century later, in 1713, it was rebuilt. In the middle of the 18th century, the chapel was consecrated by the suffragan bishop Reichsgraf Johann von Fugger from Constance. Until 1787, it belonged to the neighbouring parish of Lauterbach and was considered an important local place of pilgrimage. From 1860 to 1863, a family crypt was built there as the hereditary burial place of the Counts of Bissingen and Nippenburg.

The Falkenstein Chapel is of international importance because it houses the Falkenstein Lamentation, an interesting work of art. It is considered one of the most beautiful groups of lamentations in southern Germany. The high relief carved from lime wood stands in the choir on the neo-Gothic altar and shows the Good Friday scene: the dead Jesus lies in front of a mourning group, Mary Magdalene holds his hand and kisses it. The uncarved relief of coniferous wood was made around 1520 by the sculptor Conrad Rötlin from Rottweil, who worked in particular for Emperor Maximilian I. The altarpiece marks the transition from the Gothic to the Neo-Gothic period. The work of art marks the transition from the late Gothic to the Renaissance.