Amorsbrunn, Chapel in Amorbach, Bavaria, Germany.
Amorsbrunn is a small whitewashed chapel with a steep roof of reddish-brown tiles, built over a spring in the Odenwald near Amorbach. A square grey-slate bell turret with a louvered opening and weather vane sits on the roof ridge. The right gable end has a tall pointed-arch window with a dark grid, framed by alternating cream and reddish stone quoins; the long side holds two pointed-arch windows, one rectangular window and an arched doorway with a wooden door. The oldest surviving parts date from the 12th century.
The oldest surviving parts of the chapel date from the 12th century; it was built over a spring cult site of probable Roman or Germanic origin that was later Christianised. In the 11th century the Amorbach monk Theodorich von Fleury gave the site the name "Sancti amoris fons" after a gout healing. Around 1443 the priest Johannes Keck promoted the veneration of Saint Amor and brought relics from Münsterbilsen in 1443/1444.
The name Amorsbrunn comes from the stream Amorbach, whose first element derives from the medieval word "amar" for emmer wheat, not from the Latin "amor"; the monk Theodorich von Fleury reinterpreted it in the 11th century as "Sancti amoris fons", the healing spring of divine love. The church patron is the Virgin Mary, and the spring water is still collected beside the chapel by pilgrims, and the site is a popular wedding location.
The chapel is open to visitors from 1 May to 30 October, between 10:00 and 17:00. Spring water can be collected beside the chapel. The site lies in the Amorbach district of Amorsbrunn in the Bavarian Odenwald, in the Miltenberg district of Lower Franconia.
The chapel's church patron is the Virgin Mary, not Saint Amor. A statue of Saint Amor made in 1446 still stands on the left side of the choir, and relics brought from Münsterbilsen in 1443/44 lie in a shrine closed by an iron door. A stone block at the entrance carries the Landrada cross.
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