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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Sainte-Richarde well, located on Deharbe Street in Andlau in the Lower Rhine, dates from the 1st quarter of the 16th century (1513 according to sources). It belonged to the former cloister of the Canon Abbey founded around 880 by Richarde, wife of Emperor Charles III the Gros. This well, moved after the Revolution, is the only visible vestige of this Conventual part, now integrated into the gardens of the former hospital (ex-abbath).

The abbey, led by an abbess princess of the Empire, was a major religious center until its dissolution in 1789. Conventual buildings, sold as national goods, were divided and transformed. The well, classified as a historical monument in 1930, symbolizes this medieval and reborn heritage, linked to the history of Alsace and the figure of Richarde, canonized locally.

Architecturally, the well reflects the style of the early 16th century, a period of partial reconstruction of the abbey (nef, sacristies, abbey house). Its subsequent displacement on Deharbe Street, near the remains of the abbey church (IX–XVIIIth centuries), makes it a tangible witness to the changes in the site, marked by successive reconstructions and revolutionary secularization.

Today owned by the commune, the Sainte-Richarde well is a key part of the heritage of Andlau, associated with the memory of Richarde and the history of the Abbey, whose buildings now house establishments such as the Stoltz Grimm retirement home. Its current location, although modified, retains a link to the historical hold of the monastery.

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