Chapelle Saint-Vit de Saverne, Natural cave chapel in Saverne, France

Chapelle Saint-Vit de Saverne is a cave-chapel in the Vosges sandstone of the lower Triassic, opening through a porch above the Zorn valley and developed over 24 metres. Inside, rows of wooden benches face a small altar of light grey stone blocks with a darker base and top slab, a gold-coloured crucifix centred on it and a framed image set in a dark recess above. The rock ceiling and walls are grey-brown with green moss.

The site served as a pilgrimage destination from the 15th century onward, with a formal chapel structure established in 1542. It has remained a place of religious gathering ever since.

The name Vitsgrotte comes from Saint Vitus, called saint Guy in French and Sankt Veit in German. A mass is still celebrated in the cave each year for Saint Guy's feast day. The cave was once a pilgrimage site for people suffering from the dancing mania, who were brought here from Strasbourg.

The cave entrance is reachable from the main road and the path is clearly marked. Visitors should expect uneven ground and damp conditions, particularly in cooler months.

The 1518 Strasbourg dancing epidemic sent sufferers on foot to Saverne, where exorcism ceremonies were held in the cave during the 16th and 17th centuries. The cave was surveyed on 16 June 1991 by Claude Chabert and Jean-Yves Bigot, and its mapped length is 24 metres.