Doesn’t St. Agatha radiate an aura of peace? This chapel, located in Freiburg’s Hochdorf-Benzhausen district, holds more history than one might think. St. Agatha is a Roman Catholic chapel. It belongs to the Roman Catholic parish of Freiburg Nordwest. This is within the Freiburg deanery of the Archdiocese of Freiburg.
The St. Agatha Kapelle was first documented in 1596. However, Benzhausen was already mentioned in a document from the St. Gallen monastery in 788. The chapel was rebuilt in 1699. It had been destroyed in the Thirty Years’ War. The portal and the Gothic choir window indicate the older chapel. So do the fresco remains exposed behind the altar. The existing building mass was used and can still be seen today.
The rectangular chapel has a gable roof. It was created using the masonry of the choir rear wall. It also used the late Gothic portal with the massive buttress. In 1725, the old tower was demolished. It was replaced by a roof turret with an onion dome.
There was a dispute about maintaining this subsidiary chapel in 1788. The dispute ended in 1790. A new rectory was built. In 1820, the Joseph altar was bought from Freiburg Minster. Next to the altar panel by Johann Dengler from Munich, are statues of St. Agatha and Maria Magdalena. These are attributed to Andres Hochsing from Freiburg.
It was discovered in 1844 that the roof turret was worm-eaten. Therefore, it was replaced in 1859. A new hexagonal roof turret was built with a pointed pyramid helmet. A bronze bell hangs here. It was cast in 1768. The bell-foundry Weitenauer from Basel made it. It has a diameter of 410 mm. Its weight is 50 kg. The bell is tuned to the strike tone of C sharp. A striking mechanism of the bell strikes on the hour.
The Archbishop’s Building Authority Freiburg carried out external and internal renovations from 1973 to 1975. They paid attention to preserving the original coloring. Behind the altar are frescoes from the older chapel. Notice the image on the back of the altar. Spot Maria Magdalena and St. Agatha. St. Agatha stands as a testament to resilience and faith. It also embodies the rich history of this region.