The early Gothic Ottilien Chapel from 1328 is the oldest surviving building in Plochingen. In front of the chapel on the church wall is the bronze Ottlienbrünnele by Karl Ulrich Nuß from 1978.
History of the Ottilien Chapel in Plochingen
The local lord Johann von Plochingen, who had just left Plochingen at the time, can be considered the founder of the chapel. His coat of arms, from which today's Plochingen town coat of arms is derived, can be seen in the middle of the gallery balustrade. Around 1380, the little church was painted with 15 fresco scenes each from the Nativity and the Passion of Christ, which were probably commissioned by the great Plochingen local lord Marquardt von Randeck. Around 1432, painters from the Ulm school added a twelve-part cycle of paintings on the Ottilien legend in the choir. Unfortunately, only six scenes of the frescoes in the nave could be photographed in 1928 before they were whitewashed over. When the chapel was renovated in 1993, these six scenes were repainted by the restorer Lothar Bohring.
In 1466, the chapel was extended to include the western section and the tower. The two oldest bells in Plochingen, dating from 1657 and 1668, hang here. During a renovation of the chapel in 1720, the large ceiling coat of arms of Duke Eberhard Ludwig was attached to the wooden flat ceiling. The beautiful crucifix in the choir and the choir window with John the Baptist and Christ, designed by Rudolf Yelin in 1929, are worthy of note. A sensational find was made during the most recent renovation in 1993: during excavation work in the nave, parts of the original floor from 1328 and 1466 were discovered. The beautiful, molded and richly decorated terracotta tiles, some of which still bear the original glaze, were mostly still in their original storage bed. Today they can be seen under an armored glass ceiling.
The Ottilienbrünnele
Saint Ottilie lived in Alsace in the 6th century. She was blind from birth and, according to legend, was given sight by the water at her baptism. She is therefore considered a saint of springs and is invoked for eye problems. There was once a Celtic spring sanctuary on the site of today's Ottilia Chapel, whose water was believed to alleviate and heal eye problems. This is probably why Saint Ottilie was made the patron saint of the Ottilienkapelle in the 14th century. The Brünnele depicts St. Ottilie with her special symbol, an open Bible decorated with two large eyes - the eyes of God. Her left foot stands on a lindworm, the symbol of the dark powers that she has conquered through her faith. The dove hovers above her, symbolizing the church and the Holy Spirit. Today's spring water comes from a saline bitter spring at a depth of 90 meters and provides mineral water.
