Loreto-Kapelle Gonten

St. Loreto (10 December)

The most modest and smallest of all Loreto chapels in Switzerland north of the Alps is located in the Loretto district at the west end of the village of Gonten on the road from Gonten to Jakobsbad.

The north-facing rectangular building with polygonal end is covered with a shingled gable roof. Renewed and supplemented decorative paintings adorn the entrance wall with round-arched portal. A stone path leads to the entrance of the chapel. The uniform interior space is spanned by a vaulted field ceiling; the altar-like structure depicts the miraculous image of Loreto twice. In the antependium of 1686, St. Bartholomew and Barbara are depicted on the sides. In the middle kneeling the donor family, which turns to the foundation inscription. During the renovation in 1793, the altar was given its present form. On the altar stands a statue of the Mother of God with silk clothing and natural hair. On the left and right are two angels. Among other things, the name of the church caretaker Joh. Baptist Broger anno 1795 is painted on it. The chapel is closed.

History
To the highest glory of God and his mother Virgin Mary of St. Loretha and all the saints of God, Captain Bartholomäus Fritsche and Barbara Weger had this chapel of grace built in 1686. Under church caretaker Johann Baptist Broger, a renovation took place in 1793. In 1980, the chapel was moved two metres to the west with the help of rails. In 1981/82, it was expertly and elaborately restored under the direction of the Federal Commission for the Preservation of Monuments at the expense of the then chapel administrator Councillor Walter Fässler, Löwenheimat.