Marienkapelle

The Marienkapelle stands in the hamlet of Vorholz, part of Alberschwende in the Bregenzerwald. It is a small rectangular chapel built in 1925 and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The building has a shallow three-sided apse and a pitched roof with a tiny belfry above the entrance. Inside, the ceiling is flat and set slightly lower than the main space. Two frescoes in the apse corners show the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The main altar follows the Romanesque revival style. The chapel’s left side altar honours Saint Anne, while the right side altar is dedicated to Saint Joseph. The interior walls are plain, allowing the altars and their figures to stand out. The entrance façade has a simple gable and a single door beneath the belfry. The building is protected as part of the local heritage. From the chapel’s position on the hillside, visitors look out over the Bregenzerwald valley. The quiet lane leading to the site passes meadows and scattered farmhouses. The two chapels, the Fátimakapelle and the Marienkapelle, sit close together on the same ridge. The contrast between the plain Marienkapelle and the simpler Fátimakapelle shows how local devotion shaped both buildings.