Neuwiller-lès-Saverne (, literally ''Neuwiller near
Saverne
Saverne (, ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a mountain pass, pass ...
''; ; ) is a commune located in the historic and cultural region of
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Neuwiller-lès-Saverne is within the
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...
Grand Est
Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
The Église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Catholic parish church of Neuwiller-lès-Saverne was formerly the church of a wealthy Benedictine abbey. It is surrounded by buildings and ruins that had once belonged to the same order. It is classified as a monument historique by the
French Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
since 1840, making it a part of the first list of such heritage buildings. Thanks to its Romanesque parts, the church is a stage on the Romanesque Road of Alsace.
The handsome 1873 synagogue survived the war.
History
Benedictine Abbey
The village of Neuwiller-lès-Saverne began while Alsace was under the Christianizing rule of the
Merovingian dynasty
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
of
Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
. In the year 723, Saint , bishop of Metz, founded a
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, including considerable land on both sides of the Vosges mountains. Monasteries formed during this time represented important bases of power and wealth for the landowning elites, and were also a source of educated clergy, crucial in the administration of a diminished post-Roman world, and valued as such by Frankish kings.
In 826, Bishop Drogo of Metz, natural son of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
, transported the remains of Saint Adelphus to be interred at the abbey's church. In the Middle Ages, these relics became so popular with pilgrims that the Benedictines built a second church nearby to serve as a shrine, so as to remain undisturbed in their own sanctuary.