Kirche, Catholic chapel in Nordhalben, Germany.
The Katholische Kapelle Mariä Heimsuchung is a Catholic chapel on the eastern edge of Nordhalben, above the steep slope down to the Rodach valley. The plastered building has pointed-arch windows and portals with sandstone surrounds, a polygonal choir flush with the two-bay nave, and a slate-clad octagonal roof turret with a pointed spire on the west gable. Inside, a flat ceiling covers the nave, with a wooden gallery along the west wall.
The chapel is probably of medieval origin and may go back to the castle chapel of the vanished castle in the Nordwald. It was first mentioned in the second half of the 16th century in the church register of the Bishopric of Bamberg, and in 1611 it was described as dilapidated. A letter of indulgence of 1668 confirmed the dedication to the Visitation of Mary; an organ is documented for 1690. In the 18th century it was a pilgrimage destination until pilgrimages were banned in 1803. The town fire of 19 March 1856 damaged the building badly, and the shell was restored by the end of August 1856; restorations followed in 1951 and 2004–2006.
The chapel's name, Mariä Heimsuchung (Visitation of Mary), was confirmed by a letter of indulgence in 1668. In the 18th century it drew pilgrims from the surrounding area until pilgrimage was banned in the Electorate of Bavaria in 1803. Inside stands a standing Madonna figure dated around 1500.
The chapel stands at the eastern edge of Nordhalben on the steep slope above the Rodach valley, not on Schloßbergstraße. Its pointed-arch portals on the west and south sides have sandstone surrounds; the south side carries the four windows that light the nave.
The chapel's late Gothic standing Madonna figure dates to around 1500, older than the building's 17th-century rebuild. Building drawings from 1792 also survive, and an organ is documented for 1690.
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