The history of the chapel of St. Jacob on the Kronberg
1456 Permission to read mass on a portable altar
1464 Mention of chapel and hermit's cottage at the healing Jacob's Spring. The spring is located about 15 minutes walk west on the northern slope of the Kronberg.
1492 Bishop's permission for the celebration of Mass in the open air, suggesting an actual place of pilgrimage.
1620 First mention of the two patrons Jacob the Elder and Bartholomew. In their honor, chapel feasts are celebrated on the Sundays of St. James (July 25) and St. Bartholomew (August 24).
1859 New construction of the chapel
1882 Arson by a mentally disturbed person. Reconstruction in the same year using a bell (cast in 1744) from the demolished ossuary of Appenzell. Moisture damage and constricting space conditions lead to a new building
1925 Inauguration of the current chapel
1969 Restoration and application of ornamental paintings (eight beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount) by Anton Brülisauer, Appenzell.
Text according to a plaque near the chapel
The beginnings of the devotion to St. James in this place are connected with a legend: According to this legend, the apostle hurled his walking sticks with force away from Santiago de Compostela, and they fell down on the Kronberg. This explains the origin of the two pilgrim's staffs in the colors red and yellow (Spanish national colors!) in the municipal coat of arms of Gonten, which has been documented since 1651.
View from the summit of Kronberg to the Jakobsweg (Way of St. James), which leads from Appenzell via Gonten to Jakobsbad. Lake Constance in the background.
The picture is from a family trip
Depiction of St. James from the older St. James Chapel on Kronberg, today in the museum of Appenzell
Appenzell Way
