Church & chapels
As well as the parish church in the Bernau district of Innerlehen, which was consecrated in December 1738 in the name of John the Baptist, there are small chapels in five districts of the Bernau Highlands, which are sometimes older than the parish church. These are the chapels in the districts of Hof, Oberlehen, Unterlehen, Kaiserhaus and Riggenbach. The first chapel, infact the first house of prayer in the whole valley was built in the district of Hof, where the first settlement appeared.
The St John Church in Innerlehen
The first chapel in the Bernau district of Hof, consecrated in 1157 by the Bishop of Konstanz, was mentioned in 1173 in the charter of Clixtus and in 1423 as belonging to the parish church of St. Blasien named St. Stephan. 1606/07 the wooden chapel was replaced by a stone building. Since 1605 a vicar held a regular mass. In 1687 a mass book with a beautiful miniature of the crucified, probably made for Bernau in the 12th century, came back to Bernau from St. Blasien.
On 5th May in 1735 the abbot Franz II. Layed the foundations for the current parish church in Innerlehen. His coat of arms can be found in the centre of the triumphal arch.
http://www.se-todtmoos-bernau.de/bernau/pfarrkirche/
The chapel in Hof
Our tour of the chapels in the Bernau mountain valley leads us now to the district of Hof. The chapel here is consecrated towards John the Baptist.
The chapel in Oberlehen
This chapel is located directly next to the birth place of the great, German painter Hans Thoma and close to the Resenhof Heimatmuseum.
http://www.se-todtmoos-bernau.de/bernau/kapellen/
The chapel in Unterlehen
The first chapel was built in the Hof district, but the oldest still preserved chapel is the one built in around 1700 and consecrated towards St. Marcus in the Unterlehen district. The bell was cast in 1698 and is also as old as the chapel.
http://www.se-todtmoos-bernau.de/bernau/kapellen/
The chapel in Kaiserhaus
The chapel at the foot of the Kaiserberg is the newest of the five chapels and along with the chapel in Hof is situated at the highest altitude. The chapel is located at 930m at a beautiful spot with vast views across the Bernau valley.
http://www.se-todtmoos-bernau.de/bernau/kapellen/
The chapel in Riggenbach
The second oldest Bernau chapel can be found in the Riggenbach district. It was built in 1731 to honour Virgin Mary and the holy Fides. This small chapel had to be completely restored in 1960.
http://www.se-todtmoos-bernau.de/bernau/kapellen/
