Plague quarries in the St. Anthony's Chapel in Crombach

The parish church of St. Anthony, almost completely rebuilt in 1970, still contains some parts of the original Gothic church from 1387.
As early as 1387 there was mention of a chapel. The Gothic choir of the current church dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. The tower also originally dates from the Middle Ages, but was restored or completely rebuilt in 1755, as evidenced by the anchor irons halfway up the west side. On the north side is an entrance portal from 1789. The old parts (choir and tower) are made of whitewashed rubble stone.

What is certainly striking about this church is that tower, nave and choir are clearly separated from each other. In 1969-1970 a new nave was built over the choir to replace the old, much smaller nave. This new ship is made of unpainted blocks of sandstone and has a gable roof. The choir, on the other hand, is Gothic (15th-16th centuries), plastered white with a base of brown rubble stone, whose buttresses still bear traces of stonemasons.

Despite its size, the church has never been given the status of a parish church and still has the ecclesiastical rank of chapel. The church is surrounded by a cemetery and some old slate grave crosses are built into the wall. Striking on the outside are the buttresses with clear 'plague grooves'. Pilgrims scraped gravel from the shrine and took it home where it was put in water and drunk.
We definitely recommend that you also read the text accompanying this view. That text also describes the photos that we have attached here.

Jan Rymenams