Saint Barbara chapel, Gothic chapel in Merano, Italy

St. Barbara's Chapel is a two-storey octagonal Gothic building of rough-cut grey and tan stone, topped by a pyramidal roof of reddish-brown tiles and a small bell tower. Its upper chapel, reached by a pointed-arch doorway, has a star-ribbed vault with a keystone image of Saint Barbara. Three altars stand inside: a Baroque Immaculate altar of 1769, a carved wooden altarpiece from southern Lower Saxony bought in 1911, and a Baroque Saint Barbara altar. A fresco of Saint Christopher is painted beside the south portal.

A charnel house dedicated to Saint Michael stood on this site before construction of the present two-storey Gothic chapel began in 1422, with the vault added around 1440 and consecration in 1450; Hans von Burghausen is presumed to be the architect. It served as the cemetery chapel for Merano's old town burial ground until 1848, and its interior was restored in 1983.

The chapel's patrons were Michael, Barbara and Sebastian. The right Baroque altar, commissioned by the coopers' confraternity, shows Barbara refusing idolatry, painted by Matthias Pußjäger, with later side figures by Gregor Schwenzengast of Latsch.

The chapel sits directly behind St. Nicholas' Church in Merano and is easy to reach on foot from the town center. As a religious space, it asks for quiet behavior and respectful conduct from all who enter.

The basement of the chapel was once an ossuary holding human remains before burials moved elsewhere in the town. This hidden underground use is often overlooked by visitors today.