St. Jost (Galgenen)

St. Jost Chapel (from the northeast)

The St. Jost Chapel is located on the old country road (Obergasse) near Galgenen in the Swiss canton of Schwyz .

history

The chapel, classified as art-historical, was mentioned for the first time in a letter of indulgence in 1362 and was consecrated in 1398. The chapel is located on Obergasse, an old path from Reichenburg to Lachen , which, as part of the pilgrimage or the Way of St. James, leads via Einsiedeln to Santiago de Compostela . Between 1622 and 1623 the chapel was rebuilt in Baroque style, but parts of the Gothic wall paintings were preserved. During the redesign in 1622, for example, the picture of the tree vision (also blossom vision ) by Sebastian Gisig was created. In addition, the church is painted with other pictures from the life of Niklaus von Flüe (Sarner trial). Until 1630 there was a chaplain fringe with a benefice house by the chapel.

When it came to restoration concepts at the beginning of the 20th century, older layers of the image were more valuable than younger ones. Therefore, older picture cycles were exposed and younger picture layers were destroyed. Despite these measures, which are typical nationwide for the first decades of the 20th century, the interior furnishings of the chapel are among the most valuable and interesting in the canton of Schwyz. In 1987/1988 an exterior restoration and roof truss renovation of the chapel took place. In 2011/2012 the St. Jost chapel was also subjected to a comprehensive interior restoration.

Appearance

As a result of the renovations, some late Gothic elements (such as the altars) were mixed architecturally with Renaissance parts . There are wall paintings on the south facade .