Berschis CH - St.-Georgs-Kapelle
The St. George Chapel (in local dialect Sant Jöüri) is considered the oldest Romanesque chapel in Eastern Switzerland and is the only surviving example of a two-nave vaulted building in Switzerland. It rises above the village of Berschis on a rock spike and is thus one of the most striking art monuments on the way between Zurich and Chur.
The steeply sloping St. Georgsberg on three sides already offered a naturally protected settlement site in the early days. The excavations of 1937 have brought to light the traces of a settlement from the later Bronze Age, and today the fortification, which is no longer visible, dates back to the late Roman age. It is likely that the complex was converted into a church castle in the post-Roman period with the installation of the chapel towards the end of the first millennium.
The first written mention probably comes from the year 1253, the document does not show, however, whether a village chapel in Berschis already stood, or whether, which is much more likely, the chapel St. George is meant.The report of the Churer Visitator from the year 1639 Austin gives about the original furnishings and the construction of the chapel.
Berschis CH - St.-Georgs-Kapelle
The St. George Chapel (in local dialect Sant Jöüri) is considered the oldest Romanesque chapel in Eastern Switzerland and is the only surviving example of a two-nave vaulted building in Switzerland. It rises above the village of Berschis on a rock spike and is thus one of the most striking art monuments on the way between Zurich and Chur.
The steeply sloping St. Georgsberg on three sides already offered a naturally protected settlement site in the early days. The excavations of 1937 have brought to light the traces of a settlement from the later Bronze Age, and today the fortification, which is no longer visible, dates back to the late Roman age. It is likely that the complex was converted into a church castle in the post-Roman period with the installation of the chapel towards the end of the first millennium.
The first written mention probably comes from the year 1253, the document does not show, however, whether a village chapel in Berschis already stood, or whether, which is much more likely, the chapel St. George is meant.The report of the Churer Visitator from the year 1639 Austin gives about the original furnishings and the construction of the chapel.