About the origin of the chapel
The Marienkapelle was built in 1968 directly on the Heidenstraße. It is a gift of Mr. Willi Deimel to the community of Referinghausen. Through the mediation of Pastor Josef Schmitz, who prayed his daily breviary on this way of the Heidenstraße, the farmer Josef Hesse provided the land.
The image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was created by the artist Josef Bergenthal from Oberschledorn. Both Willi Deimel and Josef Bergenthal had lived as soldiers in Norway during the Second World War and decided to create a worthy place of thanksgiving to the Mother of God after their happy return home.
In 2003 a memorial plaque was inaugurated. It is to remind of the centuries-old army and trade route "Heidenstraße", which led from Leipzig to Cologne and was also a pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostella. The bronze plaque was erected by the village community of Referinghausen and the Friends of St. James Pilgrims Paderborn.
Every year on "Assumption Day" believers from the surrounding villages make a pilgrimage to the chapel to participate in an open-air mass. The Marienkapelle on Heidenstraße is also a popular destination outside of the pilgrimage. This is evidenced not least by the numerous fully written guest books in which all visitors to the chapel have been able to sign since 1996. These books are kept as a testimony of time in the Heimatstube Referinghausen.
Text source: Homepage Referinghausen
You will find the Marienkapelle above the village of Referinghausen, far behind the Schützenhalle (continue to follow the road "Auf der Polter").