Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint Georges, located in Séletat in the Lower Rhine, finds its origins in the eighth century as a baptismal chapel in the imperial palace of Charlemagne, where the emperor would have stayed in 775. The excavations of 1876 and 1902 revealed the remains of an underlying rotunda. The present flamboyant Gothic building was built in stages between the 1220s and the early 15th century, financed by local merchants. The nave, transept and apsidioles, inspired by the Burgundian and Champagne models, were erected in 1230, while the western massif and the tower date from the 14th century. Three architects marked the construction of the choir: Jean Obrecht, Matthis, and Erhart Kindelin, the latter making the bedside bays between 1415 and 1422.

The church, originally dedicated to the Virgin, adopted Saint George as patron in 1500. It competed with the Sainte-Foy Conventual Church, symbolizing the power of the Selestadian bourgeoisie. A jube, destroyed in 1789, was carved by Conrad Sifer in 1489-1490, whose remains remain in the Humanist Library. The major restorations, carried out by Antoine Ringeisen between 1847 and 1865, revealed medieval murals, including a scene of the Miracle of the hanged (XV century) and 14th century crucifixions. Ranked a historic monument in 1848, the church also houses 15th and 19th century stained glass windows, neo-Gothic stalls, and rich liturgical furniture, such as an organ by Martin Rinckenbach (1896).

The church's portals illustrate its stylistic evolution: a used Romanesque portal, a medieval tympanic portal redone by Émile Sichler in 1844, and a 14th century western portal decorated with sculptures. The arch keys, painted in polychromy in the 19th century, represent the Tetramorph, saints and plant motifs. Inside, a Baroque pulpit of 1619, carved by Jérôme Kruch, and a second pulpit of the 18th century, both classified in 1974, bear witness to local craftsmanship. The monumental clock of Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué (1825), classified in 1994, was restored in 1996 before being transferred to the municipal archives.

Saint George's Church is inseparable from the Séletat Humanist Library, founded in 1452 by Jean de Westhuss, priest of the parish. Humanists like Beatus Rhenanus, raised by a church chaplain, are associated. Liturgical objects, such as an 18th-century ciborium or an ostensoir by Jean-Charles Cahier (1807), reflect his religious influence. The stained glass windows of the choir (1430–1460) and the window of Saint Agnes (15th century), partially restored by Max Ingrand in 1968, are among the jewels of the building. Wall paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries, rediscovered in the 19th century, complete this exceptional heritage.

External links