Seekapelle St. George (Lake Chapel St. George), Bregenz

Seekapelle St. George was founded in 1445 as a votive chapel. It was built to remember the victory over the Appenzell troops at the Battle of Bregenz on 13 January 1408. The chapel is dedicated to St. George and the Mother of God, and it is also connected to St. Hilarius of Poitiers, whose feast day fell on the day of the battle. At that time, it was not only a place for prayer. It also showed that the local rulers and the Habsburgs had defeated the rebelling Appenzell farmers and restored their control.

The chapel was rebuilt around 1500 and enlarged in 1644. Its present appearance comes from a reconstruction between 1696 and 1698 by master builder Kaspar Held, who gave it a Baroque design. The most noticeable feature is the three-storey octagonal tower with its onion-shaped dome. The building is small and compact, with white walls and simple lines.

Inside, there is a single nave with a clear layout. The main feature is the Renaissance high altar from 1615 by Esaias Gruber the Younger, brought here from Schloss Hofen. A side altar painting shows the Madonna with St. Hilarius, St. George, St. Nicholas, and St. Leonhard. The chapel is still used for prayer and small services, keeping the memory of the events of 1408 alive.