Chapel of the Holy Blood

The legend

The oldest record of the legend of the Holy Blood dates back to 1498 and began during a game played by three wicked men.

There was a public square near the town of Willisau, the "Lustgarten", where people often gambled, won a lot or lost everything.

Legend has it that three men once sat together in the pleasure garden. After Ueli Schröter had lost all his money at the game, he drew his sword in anger, thrust it into the air and shouted: "Let it pierce the body of Christ!"

Immediately, drops of blood fell on the players' table and the blasphemer was taken by the devil with a terrible roar. The two others then tried to wash the drops of blood off the table at the nearby river Enziwigger, but were unsuccessful. During the argument, one of them was stabbed to death by the other player. The other fled, but was martyred by lice and collapsed on the threshold of the town gate. This outrage is said to have taken place on July 7, 1392. The drops of blood that the local priest then cut out of the tabletop are kept in a monstrance. A large procession of atonement takes place every year on the second Sunday after Pentecost.

The origin of the chapel

Around the middle of the 15th century, a chapel was built on the site where this took place.

In 1497, the wooden chapel was replaced by a Gothic building. The current chapel dates from 1674 and is still strongly influenced by the Renaissance. The three early baroque wooden altars, rich in figures, were created a few years later. Eight oil paintings depicting the legend of the Holy Blood adorn the chapel walls. The painted wooden ceiling was installed in 1854. The paintings depict scenes from the New Testament, the apostles and the secondary patrons of the chapel.

The pleasure garden adjacent to the chapel depicts the legend of the Holy Blood. The aforementioned drops of blood are integrated into the pleasure garden in the form of five red-flowering or red-leaved plant beds. As in the past, the pleasure garden invites you to play, meet and linger.

Visit the Chapel of the Holy Blood as part of a guided tour and find out more about this exciting legend.