Nr. on the small map: 9 (Bürgstadt)
Between the years 900 and 1000, the Martinskapelle was built and most likely used as a parish church for the entire surrounding areas. The door mountings and the main portal were renewed in 1490. On the right hand side of the entrance, there are three conciliation crosses, commonly erected in this region during the 15th century. Equally, the interior fittings are from that era, with St. Martin in the choir and the crucifixion group inside the triumphal arch.
The current shape of the chapel goes back to 1590: the large windows (possibly from 1490) were closed, the roof truss was lifted, the sanctuary painted with picture cycles by Andreas Herneisen, a painter from Nuremberg, and the nave by master painter I. B. Michel in 1589. Such illustrative tableaux with scenes from the Holy Bible can hardly be found as completely maintained as in the Martinskapelle, thus turning it into a particularly precious gem. Since 2001 you can admire the donor’s portrait in the southern side of the sanctuary: Mayor Peter Schneider by Andreas Herneisen. In front of the pulpit, the baptismal font of the old parish church, created by Michael Juncker (see Miltenberg # 15), found a new place. For a long time, the manor house of Electoral Mainz in the Martinsgasse10 was assumed to be a Carolingian royal house which had supposedly been the nucleus of Bürgstadt.
Tip: The key for a tour can be borrowed at the adjacent Gärtnerei Kling, or at the restaurant “Nadjas” next to the town hall. A small German guide book “Die Kirchen in Bürgstadt” (churches of Bürgstadt) is available for 3,- €
Links to our partners:
Gäste-Info Bürgstadt e.V.
Heimat- und Geschichtsverein Bürgstadt e.V.
