A Gothic Hospitaller chapel from 1417, formerly a hospital chapel, linked to the legend of the Passion plays in Banie, rebuilt in 1997-1998.
St George's Chapel in Banie is a Gothic building of stone and brick, erected in 1417 by the Hospitallers together with a hospital. For centuries it served the sick, and its history is linked with the legend of the interrupted Passion plays.
In 1234 Duke Barnim I granted Banie to the Templars; after the order was dissolved the Hospitallers took over the village, and in 1345 they ceded it to Duke Barnim III. In 1417, together with the hospital, they built the Gothic chapel, which was at first a shelter for the sick, including lepers.
In the 15th century Passion plays were staged at the chapel, and in 1498 their organisation ceased. According to the legend, the cause of the incidents was a rivalry between two actors for the heart of the actress playing Mary: the one playing the legionary was said to have really stabbed his rival, who played Jesus. The ducal court then forbade the staging of the plays in Banie, and the ban was observed until the expulsion of the population after the Second World War. This is a legendary account, not a documented fact.
Despite the Reformation the chapel remained in Catholic hands until 1945. Destroyed during the war, it fell into ruin; the ruin was entered in the heritage register on 5 December 1963. It was rebuilt in 1997-1998 and has served religious functions again since 25 May 1998.
It is an oriented hall building on a rectangular plan, of granite, fieldstone and brick, covered with a gable roof, with portals in the west and north walls. The furnishings consist of Baroque reliefs from the 17th and 18th centuries.
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