The Collégiale Saint-Thiébaut (Saint-Theobald

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 ...

) in

Thann, Haut-Rhin Thann (; Alsatian: ''Dànn'', , german: Thann) is a commune in the northeastern French department of Haut-Rhin, in Grand Est.Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

churches in the whole Upper Rhenish region (

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 ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

, North-Western

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, Palatinate).''HB Kunstführer Straßburg - Colmar - Elsaß'', 1986, Of its 76 meters high spire, it is said that "The spire of

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

is the highest, the spire of

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

is the broadest but the spire of Thann is the prettiest."http://www.eugubininelmondo.com/fr/Thann.html In spite of its name, the church is actually dedicated to Saint-Ubald, of which it keeps a finger as a relic. It 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 1841 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, ...

The building

The building was erected between 1332 (South lateral

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 1516 (achievement of the tower by master Rémy (or Remigius) Faesch from

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

).Thann et son patrimoine
It was damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. With a height of and a width of , the main portal of the western façade (1342–1498) is one of the most outstanding features of the church. The main tympanum, depicting 21 scenes of the life of Saint-Mary is framed by a quintuple row of sculpted

archivolt An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the ...

s, each representing several dozens of other biblical scenes, while the smaller tympana below (the northern one depicting the

Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...

and the southern one depicting the Birth of Christ and the

Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, ...

) are framed by a double row of archivolts, also depicting biblical scenes. The portal is further decorated on all sides by larger than life statues of saints displaying their attributes or acting out scenes. The whole represents one of the most ornate and elaborate examples of a "

Poor Man's Bible The term ''Poor Man's Bible'' has come into use in modern times to describe works of art within churches and cathedrals which either individually or collectively have been created to illustrate the teachings of the Bible for a largely illiterate ...

" to be seen. The north side of the church also presents a remarkable, if somewhat smaller portal (1415), less ornate as for its sculptures but architecturally more elaborate. The outside walls of the church are decorated all around by a total of 87 statues of saints. Another striking feature of the church is the multicolored

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

roof, not unlikely to the neighbouring St. Martin church's in

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

. The inside of the church is as richly ornate as the outside. 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 ...

is the most decorated part:

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 (15th century), stalls (1442, expanded 1902–1906), 12 statues of

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

(15th century), Baroque paintings (1719 and 1733). Other parts of the church display statues (Virgin with child, 1510; Saint Ubald, 16th century; Jesus bearing the cross, 17th century), remains of

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es (15th and 16th century), a

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

from the 16th century, a

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

of 1629 and several

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

statues and altars. The church's organ's pipes and mechanism had to be replaced in 2001, but Saint-Thiébaut still keeps its magnificent

organ case of 1888.Orgue de Thann, Saint-Thiébaut

Inside dimensions

*Central nave: long, wide, high *Choir: long, high *Southern lateral nave: wide, high *Height of the choir windows:

Gallery

File:Vue plongeante sur Thann et son église.jpg, The church seen from the castle ruin ''Château de l’Engelbourg'' (aka ''L'Œil de la sorcière'') File:Collégiale Saint-Thiébaut de Thann a.jpg, Rear view of the church File:Thann church, detail of coloured tiled roof and tower.jpg, Detail of couloured tiled roof and of spire File:Thann Church - full view of portal of west façade.jpg, West façade: the portal File:2013-09-14 11-43-21-Collegiale Saint-Thiebaut de Thann-PA00085696.jpg, West façade: upper (main) tympanum of the portal File:2013-09-14 10-41-39-Collegiale Saint-Thiebaut de Thann-PA00085696.jpg, Inside: the central nave File:2013-09-19 15-08-30-collegiale-thann-PA00085696.jpg, Inside : the choir File:Thann StThiebaut37.jpg, Inside: the pipe organ File:2013-09-19 15-21-25-collegiale-thann-PA00085696 ShiftN.jpg, Inside: the pulpit File:Thann StThiebaut75.JPG, Inside : details of vaults

References

Literature

*René Kirner: ''La Collégiale Saint-Thiébaut de Thann'', Imprimerie Lescuyer Lyon, 1st trimester 1990

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thann Theobalds Church, Thann Buildings and structures completed in 1516 Churches in Haut-Rhin Monuments historiques of Haut-Rhin Gothic architecture in France 1516 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France