Koszalin - Kaplica św. Gertrudy

After Duke Boleslaw III (aka "Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed") had captured the tonws along the Balitic sea in 1107 the area became part of the Duchy of Pomerania, a vassal state of Poland and later of Denmark in 1185. It became part of the Holy Roman Empire from 1227. In 1266, the growing town was granted a charter (Lübsches Stadtrecht), autonomy and multiple privileges to attract German settlers from the west.

The city became a member of the Hanseatic League in 1386.

As a result of German colonization, the town became mostly German-speaking. In 1516 local Germans enforced a ban on buying goods from Slavic speakers. It was also forbidden to accept native Slavs to craft guilds.

In 1531 riots took place between supporters and opponents of the Protestant Reformation. In 1534 the city became mostly Lutheran under the influence of Johannes Bugenhagen.

The city was granted to Brandenburg-Prussia after the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.

The Kaplica św. Gertrudy (Gertraudenkapelle) was erected in 1383 outside the city walls. Originally it served as a cemetery chapel. Its octagonal form may refer to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. After the Reformation the chapel became the property of Evangelical church.

In 1735 the chapel was turned into an ammunition depot, which involved bricking up the windows. At the end of the 19th century the building served as a warehouse.

It became a temple of the Old Lutheran Church. It was repaired and the roof was built in its present form.