Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The basilica Notre-Dame-de-Thierenbach, located in Jungholtz in the Upper Rhine, finds its origins in a Benedictine priory founded in 1130 on a place of pilgrimage dedicated to the Virgin, under the protection of Peter the Venerable, Abbé of Cluny. Some carved fragments of this first medieval building still remain today. The site, abandoned during the Thirty Years War, was rebuilt from 1697, with a convent building erected between 1698 and 1717.

The present church, built between 1717 and 1723 in accordance with the original plans of Benedictine monks of Franche-Comté, was profoundly redesigned by architect Peter Thumb in 1719, who also supervised its construction. Abolished in 1791 during the Revolution, the priory was redeemed by the city of Soultz, allowing the pilgrimage to continue. In 1881 the church became parish church for Jungholtz, but a fire in 1884 destroyed part of the convent buildings and damaged the building, requiring restoration.

The interior decorations mark his artistic history: Martin Feuerstein's murals, made between 1891 and 1911, adorn the choir and the apsidioles, while Marcel Imbs restored in 1926 The Holy Family, damaged during the First World War. René Kuder intervened in 1924 to paint the dome of the lateral chapel. Finally, a bulb bell tower, in modern style, was added in 1932. The building, partially classified and listed as historical monuments since 1982, bears witness to eight centuries of Marian devotion and architectural evolution.

Architecturally, the basilica is distinguished by its cradle vault with glasses in the nave and the choir, and by the arches of the collaterals. The site, owned by the commune, also preserves traces of its monastic past, with protected elements such as Feuerstein's paintings. Its history reflects the political and religious upheavals of Alsace, between Benedictine heritage, revolutionary destruction, and rebirth as a place of parish worship and pilgrimage.

Future

Today, Thierenbach is an important pilgrimage centre where the faithful come from all over Alsace, but also from abroad.

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