Seekapelle Bregenz

The Seekapelle is a chapel on Rathausstraße in the Vorarlberg area of Bregenz.Built in 1663, the chapel is dedicated to Saint George and Our Lady.The chapel is part of the parish of Bregenz-St. Gallus in the Feldkirch diocese’s Bregenz deanery.

The chapel is located near the Leutbühel in Bregenz’s city center, at the intersection of Anton-Schneider-Straße and Rathausstraße.The town hall in Bregenz is directly connected to the chapel on the west side.

The chapel was donated by the city of Bregenz to commemorate the victory in the Battle of Bregenz on January 13, 1408 during the Appenzell Wars, and it was built on the lakeside in 1445.It was dedicated to Saint George, the dragon-slayer, and Saint Hilary of Poitiers, the battle’s patron saint (January 13).The church was rebuilt in 1500 and enlarged around 1644.The current church was built between 1696 and 1698 by the city of Bregenz and the Deuring family, with master brickwork Kaspar Held following Christian Thumb’s plans.Architect Klaus Reininger renovated the interior in 1989/90.

The church is a simple nave construction with a recessed chancel and slanted flat arched windows.The nave and chancel are connected by a single gabled roof.A three-story octagonal tower with an onion dome stands in front of the chancel.The upper storeys of the tower are divided by a cornice and pilasters drawn over the corner.On the third level, there are three sound windows with balustrades.Niche figurines adorn the three-dimensionally created portals: a Saint Nicholas figure sits over the south entrance, and a Saint Hilarius figure rises above the north portal.On the rounded sides of the chancel, St. Michael is depicted above the southern window, while Saint George is shown above the north window.Johann Winkel, who lived around 1700, is most likely responsible for all of the figures. On the south wall of the nave chapel is Albert Bechtold’s 1923 memorial plaque to the Bregenz dialect poet Kaspar Hagen. On the east side, there is a monument plaque remembering Bregenz victims of National Socialist tyranny.In 1988, the city donated it to the museum.

The chapel is a single-nave prayer room divided by pilasters.Above, there is a lunette barrel vault.The 3/8 retractable chancel has lunette vaults.Two columns provide support for the gallery.