"Was the heart of the community": Storm destroys old chapel - owners stunned

Created: 07/31/2022 05:02

By: Peter Schiebel

Only rubble: owner Michael Steinsberger in front of what is left of the chapel in Sibichhausen.

© Dagmar Rutt - info@digidag.de

All that is left is a pile of rubble: the storm destroyed the chapel in Sibichhausen with full force on Monday evening.

Owner Michael Steinsberger is heartbroken.

Sibichhausen - Whoever sat on the two small benches or stood in front of them for a short moment of pause or a longer prayer - nobody kept a record of it.

Who exactly when, how and why built the small chapel Am Kranzlberg in Sibichhausen is also unknown.

And yet it was always there, for more than 200 years.

Until the storm on Monday evening simply knocked over a mighty linden tree and buried the chapel underneath.

Owner Michael Steinsberger (64) is still stunned by the rubble.

“That was the heart of the community,” he says.

District of Starnberg: thunderstorm destroys chapel - it has been a listed building since 1981

The chapel has been under monument protection since 1981.

“Probably 18th century at its core, modern porch” can be read publicly in the list of monuments, nothing more.

The specialists for the chapel could not be reached yesterday at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation.

And even Michael Steinsberger does not know the details such as the exact year of manufacture.

But what he does know: both the chapel and the linden tree can be seen on the flag of the Allmannshausen fire brigade, which was founded in 1874.

Steinsberger and his wife Rosemarie (61) didn't even notice the fatal gust on Monday around 11 p.m., 11.30 p.m.

They were in the house when the storm raged over the eastern shore of Lake Starnberg.

Neighbors came to their farm, the glass farm, and rang the bell.

He couldn't even worry about the dilemma.

Because the storm also damaged the fence of the pasture on which six cattle and oxen and two calves were standing.

"Fortunately nothing happened to the animals," says Steinsberger.

The repair work on the fence, sometimes in the pouring rain, would have had priority.

Owner and wife don't even notice the devastation

The full extent only became visible on Tuesday morning.

No stone in the chapel stands on top of the other.

How to proceed now?

"A replica would certainly be feasible," says Steinsberger.

“But the way it was, it will be difficult.” He now wants to contact the preservationists to clarify what should be done.

Until then, he also wants to leave the rubble lying around.

By the way: everything from the region is also available in our regular Starnberg newsletter.

Neither the monument office nor the lower nature conservation authority at the district office was able to get any information about it yesterday.

Berg's mayor Rupert Steigenberger also wants to wait and see what the experts say.

If there is a concept, he would be happy to talk about "the extent to which we can provide support," he says in an interview with Starnberger Merkur.

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Chapel Destroyed: Reconstruction would be a nice thing for owners

For Steinsberger, any kind of reconstruction would be a nice thing.

The family would have decorated the chapel with fresh flowers, especially on the holidays, i.e. primarily at Easter, Pentecost and Christmas, and would even set up a nativity scene from time to time at Christmas.

“The chapel was well attended,” he says.

"A lot of people stopped here on their way." Unfortunately, in the mid-1980s, some thieves who stole the carved figures of Saint Leonhard and Saint Florian from the niches of the chapel and who never appeared again afterwards.

Independently of this, Michael Steinsberger is concerned with saying a heartfelt thank you to the firefighters, including his sons.

"Anyone who was out that night deserves a big compliment."

You can find more current news from the district of Starnberg at Merkur.de/Starnberg.