Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Riquewihr Hospital, located in the Place des Trois-Églises, is a historical monument dating back to the 14th century. Originally, it was a chapel dedicated to Saint Erard, integrated into a contiguous hospital complex. The Gothic ship's frame, typical of the medieval period, and the remains of a Last Judgment painted at the end of the 15th century, discovered in 1981 behind Renaissance panels, attest to its seniority. The chapel was disused in 1534 during the Protestant Reformation, then transformed into a boys' school in 1539, as evidenced by the inscription of das wortt gottes plipt ewig on a window dated this year.

The building, adjacent to the wall of the city's northern enclosure, preserves significant architectural elements of the 16th and 14th centuries. The windows, which were replaced in the 16th century, have beads on the side of the square, while the ground floor keeps Renaissance panels and fragments of murals. The structure, initially apparent, and the wooden latrines of the north wall recall its medieval hospital use. After a private period in the 20th century, the building now houses a service unit. It was listed as historical monuments in 1930 (facade and roof) and in 1987 (inner elements and frame).

The religious transition of the 16th century marked the history of the building: ceded by the seigneury to the city in 1534 with the former hospital, it lost its religious vocation to become a place of teaching. The campanile, destroyed in the 18th century for old age, and the successive transformations (mature door, modified windows) illustrate its functional evolution. The successive protections in the 20th century underline its heritage value, mixing medieval, Renaissance and reformed heritage, characteristic of Alsace of this time.

External links