Welcome to the St. Wendelinus Chapel in Essingen near Landau!
The St. Wendelinus Chapel is the oldest building in the southern Palatinate village of Essingen: It was already mentioned in documents around 1000 and consecrated to the Virgin Mary in 1280. Since 2020, it has been part of the cultural monuments adorned with the scallop shell in the European project "Sternenweg/Chemin des étoiles".
The interior of the Wendelinus Chapel impresses with "al secco" murals from the 14th or 15th century. The magnificent paintings in the choir vault of the tower, which depict the Virgin Mary as the central theme, as well as fragments in the nave, tell stories such as the Annunciation of the birth of Jesus, Joseph's dream, the presentation of gifts by the Magi, the flight to Egypt and the twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple. Local references, including details of the former Essingen castle and the local lord of the time, Balthasar von Rosenberg, are also incorporated.
The tower's roof and belfry were renovated between 2017 and 2019. In the course of this, the so-called "Hitler bell" from 1936 was also replaced with a new bell. The bell from the Third Reich was given on permanent loan to the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Speyer.
The St. Wendelinus Chapel is an impressive example of Gothic architecture. The simple hall construction of the nave, formerly equipped with a stone pulpit, gallery and Alsecco paintings, stands in contrast to the massive two-storey tower from the 13th century. The lower storey houses the choir with its late Gothic murals and the upper storey houses the bell. The tower is crowned with a four-sided pointed spire and is a striking landmark of Essingen.
