Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of the Assumption-de-la-Bienheureuse-Vierge-Marie de Bergheim, classified as a historical monument since 1985, is a Gothic building which began construction around 1320 after a fire in 1287. Consecrated in 1347, it preserves medieval elements such as its bell tower-porch vaulted with warheads, its sculpted tympanum depicting the Adoration of the Magi, and 15th century wall paintings discovered in 1957. Its architecture combines a nave with three vessels, a trilobed apse choir, and capitals decorated with foliage or heads of Magi kings.

In 1718, the nave and the collaterals were thoroughly redesigned by architect Joseph Elgass, with the addition of arches in the middle of the hanger and a ceiling with a throat. The bell tower, originally medieval, was raised in 1725 by an octagonal part and an arrow, as evidenced by the engraved dates and coats of arms. A lateral chapel dedicated to the Fourteen Saints Auxiliaries was added in 1819. The building thus illustrates the Alsatian architectural evolution, from flamboyant Gothic to Baroque transformations.

The taskron marks visible on the arches and windows, as well as the carved vault keys (blessing hand, roses, foliage), reveal the know-how of medieval artisans. The site, raised in relation to the Grand'Rue, dominates the village and retains remains of exterior painted decoration. The northern sacristy, vaulted with warheads with a key representing a blessing hand, dates from the reconstruction of the fourteenth century, while the southern sacristy is more recent.

The church also houses remarkable furniture elements, such as an axial niche in the apse with two tasker marks, and statues of evangelists (now missing) once placed on the bell tower. The glass windows and bays in broken arch, ground with trilobes and quadrilobes, illuminate an interior where Gothic structures and 18th-century amenities combine. This monument bears witness to the religious and artisanal history of Bergheim, an Alsatian wine village.

The 1985 protection covers the entire building, with the exception of the southern sacristy. A communal property, the church remains an active place of worship and a heritage open to the visit, illustrating almost seven centuries of architectural and spiritual history in Alsace.

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