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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church of St.Martin in Ammerschwihr, located in the Upper Rhine, has its origins in the tenth century: a chapel is mentioned there in 977 in a donation to the abbey of Murbach. The existence of a parish church is attested as early as 1149, but its medieval evolution remains poorly known, if this is the addition of four chapels and two altars between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. The present building, reconstructed mainly between 1563 and 1585 by the masterpiece Claus Wigand, a late gothic mix (ribbed vaults, flat bedside) and Renaissance influences (Tuscan Chapters, ground doors).

In the 18th century, the church, judged in poor condition in 1736 and 1761, was restored in 1769 by the city after a legal conflict with the decimators. The bell tower, redesigned in 1778, lost its medieval turrets in favor of enlarged openings. In the 20th century, major works (1908-1912) moved the bell tower westward, extended the nave, and added a neo-Gothic portal carved by Pierre Heusch. The medieval crypt, filled in 1936, and the stalls of the choir (1809) complete its architectural history.

Ranked a historic monument in 1946, the church bears the traces of its multiple reconstructors: the coat of arms of the city's lords (Ribeupierre, Lupfen, Schwendi) adorn the vault keys, while its historical financing comes in part from the income of the pilgrimage of the Three Epis. The damage of 1945 required urgent restoration, preserving this witness of the Alsatian styles, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era.

Its architecture reveals a contrast between the apparent stone choir (15th-XVIth centuries) and the nave crepie, reflecting successive construction campaigns. The hexagonal tower with screws, vaults with various veins, and side chapels illustrate the transition between flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance. The current neo-Gothic bell tower replaces a medieval tower with three networks of windows embedded in the presbytery wall.

The church plays a central role in the life of Ammerschwihr, Alsatian wine village. In the 16th century, its reconstruction mobilized local resources (municipality, Hohlandsberg seigneury, Feldbach monastery) and artisans like Claus Wigand. The conflicts for his maintenance, like that between the city and the decimators in 1775, underline his community importance. Today, it remains a place of worship and a heritage landmark of the Great East.

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