The Romance trail of Alsace

The Romance trail of Alsace invites you to discover a major aspect of the regional heritage. From Wissembourg to Feldbach, while stopping at the solid massive of the Vosges and the plain of the Rhine, this tourist and cultural route includes more than 120 sites, from the most prestigious to the most secret. Tangible traces from this past, churches, abbeys and castles cover the period from the 11th to the beginning of the 13th century. These buildings testify to the evolution in regional Romanesque art, with its antiquated forms to the advent of the Gothic.

The first Alsace Romance churches are characterized by their framework cover, the system of the vault being reserved to the apses and the crypts.

Two types are distinguished :

• The centred plan perpetuating the memory of the church of Aachen ( Aix-la-Chapelle).

• The basilical plan with 3 naves.

Alsace grew rich as a result of multiple influences, in particular from Lombardy and Burgundy. Between 1180 and 1230, Alsatian Romanesque art uses new techniques, such as the triangular arch and it ribbed vault, but it preserves its taste for sober and clearly drawn spaces.

In the valley the churches of Sigolsheim and Kaysersberg are perfect representations of it.

Built at the very end of the 12th century, the church of Saint Pierre et Paul of Sigolsheim was heavily restored after the winter battles of 1944/1945.

In 1837, the nave was lengthened by more than 11 metres. The decoration of the gate is concentrated around the handing-over of the keys and the book to Pierre and Paul.

A conflict between Frederic II of Hohenstaufen and the Duke of Lorraine involves the construction of the ramparts of Kaysersberg in 1227. The construction of the church of the Sainte Croix (Holy Cross) dates from the same time. The crowning of the Virgin constitutes the main theme of the Tympanum. Contrary to the traditional formula, the Virgin is sitting to the left of Christ, in the presence of the archangels Michael and Gabriel.