Erasmus Chapel

The Erasmuskapelle was a 13th-century Catholic cemetery chapel in Kempten, built partly as a double chapel with an upper and lower level. The ground floor was dedicated to the Archangel Michael, while the lower level served as an ossuary for the remains of the dead. It stood beside the St-Mang Church, which had been used by the Protestant community since the 16th century, until the chapel was demolished in 1857. Archaeologists uncovered around 500 graves during excavations on St-Mang Square between 2003 and 2010. These finds helped trace the early settlement history of the town and revealed connections between the chapel and the surrounding urban development. The surviving foundations and crypt were opened to the public in 2010 as a display space, where multimedia presentations explain the chapel’s religious significance and the city’s past. Visitors today see a preserved underground space with exposed stonework, including parts of the original vaulting and window niches. The lower chapel’s red-stained walls still show traces of the fire that damaged it in the 14th century. A central sandstone pillar, once supporting the ceiling, has been reinstalled after being removed during earlier building work. The multimedia display uses images and sound to bring the chapel’s history to life, while the surrounding square preserves the memory of the medieval cemetery that once stood above it.