The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

(french: Église paroissiale Saint-Jean Baptiste), formerly

Collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

Saint Florentius (''Collégiale Saint-Florent'') is the main church of the small city of

Niederhaslach Niederhaslach is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is noteworthy for its Gothic 13th-15th century Niederhaslach Church. See also * Oberhaslach, a neighbouring commune * Communes of the Bas-Rhin dep ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. The building is widely considered one of the finest and most ornate examples of

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

and

Gothic art Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century AD, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern, Southern and ...

in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

departement of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

.''HB Kunstführer Straßburg - Colmar - Elsaß'', 1986,

History

The church, which was originally dedicated to

Florentius of Strasbourg Saint Florentius of Strasbourg was the 13th Bishop of Strasbourg {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 These persons were bishop, archbishop or prince-bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg (including historically Prince-Bishopr ...

bishop of Strasbourg {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 These persons were bishop, archbishop or prince-bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg (including historically Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg): Bishops and prince-bishops *Amandus *Justinus vo ...

from 618–624, was built from 1274 on as a replacement for a building from the 7th century that had been the shrine since 810 (by order of bishop Ratho) of

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of the Saint. The new church was under construction until 1385: a fire on 4 June 1287 that destroyed everything but the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

as well as the accidental death of the architect Gerlach von Steinbach (the son of

Erwin von Steinbach Erwin von Steinbach (c. 1244 – 17 January 1318) was a German architect, and was a central figure in the construction of the Strasbourg Cathedral. Biography According to a tradition which arose in a later age he was called Erwin von Steinba ...

) in 1330 had slowed down its completion. The church was plundered during the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (german: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense oppositio ...

in 1525 and on 6 June 1633, it was burned by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

mercenaries during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. The building was neglected during the following two centuries and even served as a

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

in 1744. The

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, however, spared the church, but dissolved the chapter to which it belonged. The church was thoroughly restored from 1853 to 1887 by architects

Émile Boeswillwald Émile Boeswillwald (2 February 1815 – 20 March 1896) was a French architect. He succeeded Prosper Mérimée as Inspector General of Historic Monuments and collaborated with Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Life Emile Boeswillwald born in Strasbourg o ...

and Charles Winkler, and again from 1990 to 2006. Niederhaslach's church is listed as a ''

Monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' since 1846 by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...

Furnishing

Stained glass windows

Niederhaslach's church prides itself with one of the most complete and well preserved/restored collections of medieval

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows in Alsace after

Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', german: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or ''Straßburger Münster''), also known as Strasbourg ...

. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and choir display a large number of windows from the 13th and 14th century, remarkable for their shining nuances of blue and red and the number and variety of represented human figures. They represent the life of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

as well as of

. The most famous window, being the most original in its design, is the one showing the predication of John the Baptist, the central figure being displayed life-sized. The

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

shows a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

of the year 1325.

Sculptures

Outside * Grand

portal Portal often refers to: * Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...

of 1310 representing the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

, the

Coronation of Mary The Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries, but continuing in popularity until the 18th century and beyond. Christ, sometimes accompanied by God th ...

and the Legend of Saint Florentius * Numerous gargoyles all around the building in the shape of humans and beasts * Remains of the cemetery: tombstones of clerical people from the 14th to the 18th century *

Bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

"Christ on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

" (1492). Inside * Representation of the Holy Sepulchre (14th century); tombstone of Gerlach von Steinbach (1330) *

Keystones A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...

of the Gothic vault * Late medieval tomb of bishop Ratho * Choir stalls (1691) *

Reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...

of Saint Florentius (1714) * Life-sized group of statues "Crucifixion scene" (1740)

Pipe organ

On the inside of the façade is a

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

from 1903.The Rinkenbach pipe organ

Gallery

File:Collégiale Saint-Florent de Niederhaslach (1).jpg, Lateral view File:Stiftskirche Niederhaslach Tympanon.jpg, Tympanum of the main portal File:Stiftskirche Niederhaslach Langhaus.jpg, The nave looking towards the choir File:France Niederhaslach Collégiale Saint-Florent Christ au tombeau.jpg, Entombement of Christ File:Stiftskirche Niederhaslach Glasfenster (Kampf der Tugenden mit dem Laster).jpg, Stained glass window "Virtues fighting vices" File:Stiftskirche Niederhaslach Ölbergrelief.jpg, Relief "Christ on the Mount of Olives" File:Stiftskirche Niederhaslach Chorgestühl.jpg, Choir stalls File:Stiftskirche Niederhaslach Kanzel.jpg, Pulpit File:Stiftskirche Niederhaslach Seitenansicht.jpg,

Buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es File:Stiftskirche Niederhaslach Sakristei.jpg,

Sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

(14th century)

Dimensions

The known dimensions are as follows''Niederhaslach, sa collégiale'', anonymous publication (Authors: "J.S. - P.M.") of the ''Association des Amis de Saint-Florent'', 3rd trimester 1994. * Height of spire: * Length of central nave: * Total length:

Sources and references

External links

* * {{Authority control Churches in Bas-Rhin Monuments historiques of Bas-Rhin Roman Catholic churches in France Gothic architecture in France