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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The funeral chapel of the Muller family, located in Muhlbach-sur-Bruche in Lower Rhine, was built in 1861 for the manufacturer Jean-Baptiste Muller and his wife Caroline Baumlin. This neo-Gothic monument, characteristic of the Second Empire in Alsace, completes their neighbouring castle. Its architecture, entirely fitted in sandstone, includes a carved gate, stained glass windows signed Baptiste Petit-Gérard (1864), and a vaulted nave on dogive crosses. A Latin inscription on the benigner commemorates his dedication In honorm Dei omnipotentis and B. Marie Virginis, by the Muller family and their descendants.

The chapel, oriented and with a single vessel, features striking stylistic elements: gargoyle foothills, openwork bays with polylobed roses, and a screw staircase leading to a stand. The stained glass window, designed by the master glassmaker Baptiste Petit-Gérard in 1864, and the glass-painted vaults illustrate the care taken to its decoration. The monument, inscribed in the Historical Monuments since 1992, bears witness to the industrial and religious influence of the Alsatian families affluent in the 19th century, mixing funeral heritage and Christian architecture.

The building, located at the Mullerhof, also reflects the social dynamics of the era: manufacturers such as Jean-Baptiste Muller, actors of the industrial revolution in Alsace, displayed their status by ambitious architectural commands. The chapel, dedicated to God and the Virgin, served as both a place of family memory and a symbol of public piety. His neo-Gothic style, then in vogue, was part of a movement of rediscovery of medieval forms, adapted to the bourgeois tastes of the Second Empire.

The available sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum) highlight its state of conservation and heritage interest, with a geolocation at 2 Mullerhof, 67130 Muhlbach-sur-Bruche. Although the architect remains anonymous, the quality of the sculptures (gargoyles of the choir) and the stained glass windows attests to a remarkable craftsmanship for the time. The date MDCCCLXI (1861), engraved on a foothill, confirms the completion of the work that year.

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