St. Martin's Chapel, Furtwangen

St. Martin’s Chapel (German: Martinskapelle) stands at an elevation of 1,085 metres above sea level (NHN) at the upper end of the Katzensteig valley on the territory of Furtwangen just above the source of the Danube.

Archaeological excavations in 1958 showed that, on the site of the present chapel, there was a religious building as early as the time around 800 A.D. perhaps a heathen spring shrine.

In historical documents, the elevation of a forest chapel to the status of a church by the abbey of St. Margaret is recorded in 915, but it is not clear if that refers to this earliest building.

It could also refer to a chapel, recorded in a papal bull of 1178 by Pope Alexander III, that was erected on a high mountain by the municipality of Furtwangen.

However, in 1848 it was converted into a utility building: extensions and alterations were made so that it had a stable, hayloft, shed, toilet and cellar.

This saw inter alia the roof covered with hand-split spruce shingles, ventilation and alarm facilities installed, the walls replastered and the pews restored.