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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Truttenhausen Abbey, located near Obernai in the massif of Mount Sainte-Odile, was founded around 1186 by the abbesse Herrade of Landsberg to welcome pilgrims. It included a priory of Augustine canons, a hospital and a hospice. The aim was to provide religious services in Hohenburg and to offer a refuge on the pilgrimage route. Of this medieval ensemble, there remain only 12th century columns and the remains of the church rebuilt in 1467, with its Romanesque tower rebuilt in 1490.

In the 15th century, the abbey experienced a decline marked by destruction during wars and fires. Prior Jean Tulmann undertook in 1467 the reconstruction of the church and the convent buildings, completed in 1490. However, the abbey was looted in 1525 during the Peasant War and burned shortly thereafter. The nuns finally gave up in 1555. The ruins, acquired in 1648 by the Landsberg family, have been owned since 1800 by the Turckheim family, who preserved the site and built an English garden.

The church, classified as a historical monument in 1984, is the main vestige visible today. It illustrates late Gothic architecture, with a nave and a partially preserved choir. The site, once a spiritual and hospitable centre, bears witness to the importance of Alsatian abbeys in welcoming pilgrims and medieval religious life. The remains, surrounded by a wooded park, also recall the upheavals linked to the conflicts of the 15th and 16th centuries.

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