St. Margaretha Chapel in Beisinghausen

A chapel had previously stood on this very spot. The long walls and the west facade of the old medieval chapel were preserved during the construction of the present-day chapel. The inscription on the beam above the entrance indicates the year of construction as 1753. It reads: “IN THE YEAR 1753, THIS CHAPEL WAS BUILT TO THE PRAISE OF GOD AND IN HONOR OF MARY, HER GUARDIAN ANGELS, AND ST. MARGARET”
In 1754, the chapel was dedicated to St. Margaret.
St. Margaret of Antioch was murdered around the year 305 A.D. because of her Christian faith. She is the patron saint of farmers, wet nurses, women, and virgins. She is also one of the 14 Holy Helpers. The altar dates from 1684 and contains the relics of the martyrs Tiberius and Valerian.
Her feast day is July 20.

For a time, the bell in the chapel could not be rung because it had not been properly hung. So another bell was hung at a private home and rung every morning, noon, and evening for the “Angelus Dei.” The bell also had to be rung when a storm was approaching.

In recent years, extensive maintenance work has been carried out. The interior and exterior plaster was renewed, and the roof, including the tower, was re-covered with natural slate. In addition, an electric bell-ringing mechanism was installed. In 1983, the chapel was designated a historic landmark.

Today, a patron saint’s Mass is celebrated once a year, and a funeral service is held here upon the death of a villager.

About 200 meters above the chapel, at the road junction leading to Reiste, a war memorial was built in 1950 and dedicated on February 17, 1960. It commemorates the fallen from Beisinghausen in both world wars. Next to the chapel stands a wooden frame with a small bell. On the very day the cornerstone was laid, Josef Struwe returned to Beisinghausen from captivity in Russia. He was thus warmly welcomed to the sound of the bell.

In years past, Beisinghausen celebrated its parish fair on “White Sunday.” Following a solemn vespers service in the chapel, a large pancake feast took place in the surrounding houses. Locally, this celebration was known as the “Pannekaukenkiärmisse.”

Beisinghausen is over 700 years old. Beisinghausen is first mentioned in a document from 1314 in the property register of the Drasenbeck estate under the name “Bosinchusen.” Over time, the name evolved into the present-day “Beisinghausen.”