Eremitenklause Börrstadt, Cave church and hermitage in Börrstadt, Germany

The Eremitenklause is a rock-cut chapel with the remains of a hermit's dwelling at the foot of the Donnersberg, about one kilometre northwest of Hahnweilerhof. A roofless rectangular antechamber, roughly four by three metres, precedes the chapel; its south wall holds the 1.80-metre entrance. The chapel chamber measures about 2.5 by 4 metres and 3 metres high, with a medieval ribbed vault cut into the rock and a window opening above the entrance.

The hermitage was established around 1468 and the surrounding forest became known as Klausenbusch, reflecting the early religious presence in the area. The site remained a place of retreat and contemplation throughout the following centuries.

The chapel's name lives on in the forest around it, called Klausenbusch by 1468. A local legend tells of two children from Hahnweilerhof who drank at the spring and saw an old man reflected in the water; his staff, planted in the ground, grew into a large white beech. The tale echoes the legend of Saint Gangolf, whose staff likewise struck a spring.

The hermitage lies about one kilometre northwest of Hahnweilerhof, in the south slope of a small valley; the approach is on foot from the valley's north side. The spring beside the chapel rises at the site and flows east; since 1911 most of its water has been piped to Hahnweilerhof as drinking water, leaving only a small flow in the stone basin.

The site blends a natural cave formation with hand-carved architectural details, showing how craftspeople worked with the existing rock. The doorway was carved to a height of roughly 1.80 meters, suggesting careful planning to fit human proportions.