Lourdeskapelle, Kapellenstraße in Schwarzach

The Lourdeskapelle in Schwarzach stands at a small road junction in the Bregenz district of Vorarlberg, raised slightly above the surrounding streets. It is a single-storey rectangular stone building in the neo-Gothic style, facing roughly north-west to south-east. The walls are left bare, showing the natural stone blocks used for construction. The chapel was commissioned in the 1890s by Johann Kohler after a vow made for his father-in-law, Gebhard Schwärzler, a local mayor and factory owner who died in 1896. It was designed by Georg Baumeister and completed in 1897. The interior features abstract stained-glass windows by Hubert Berchtold depicting biblical scenes. A metal-clad door and an open bell-cote sit on the north-west side beneath the tiled roof. Inside, the single room serves as both nave and sanctuary under a false barrel vault. Plain pine pews seat about twelve people. Above the entrance hangs an inscribed stone recording the chapel’s history, and in the open bell-cote a bell is rung on special occasions. The building remains under official protection as a cultural monument.