St. Wendel zum Stein, Medieval chapel in Dörzbach, Germany

St. Wendel zum Stein is a small late Gothic chapel built between 1511 and 1515 against a ten-metre-high limestone sinter cliff on the left bank of the Jagst near Dörzbach. The rock forms its rear wall; a 15th-century sexton's house stands beside it, and a spring called Kindlesbrunnen rises beneath that house.

A first chapel likely stood in a tuff grotto above the present site as early as the 6th century, on a spot that had been a Celtic spring sanctuary. The chapel visible today was built between 1511 and 1515 in late Gothic style for Ursula von Berlichingen, replacing a Romanesque predecessor and becoming the third chapel here. The stone chapel was already mentioned in a 1478 property deed of the Lords of Bachenstein.

The chapel is dedicated to Saint Wendelin, the patron of shepherds and farmers. Today it serves as a place of prayer where visitors can experience the spiritual purpose that has drawn people here for centuries.

The chapel is reached by an 8-kilometer walking path starting from a marked parking area, combining paved roads and forest trails. The hike requires moderate fitness and takes most visitors about two to three hours to complete.

The tuff stone caves beneath the chapel contain evidence of prehistoric settlements, with human remains and artifacts discovered by archaeologists. These findings reveal that the rocky cliff has been important to people for thousands of years before the chapel was ever built.