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Origin and history

The chapel of Laubenheim, also called Kloesterle, was founded around 1130-1135 by the family of Eguisheim-Dabo, close to the papacy. Consecrated in 1135 under the reign of Count Bruno Petit (neve of Pope Leo IX), it is dedicated to the Virgin and to five saints: Barthélémy, Laurent, Georges, Rémy and Euphemia. As early as 1137, it was transferred to the Benedictine Abbey of Lure, which established a priory there. This religious site, marked by a sandstone plaque dated 1485 (restoration by Father Johann Stor), became an annual pilgrimage and market place in the 16th century, before being bought by the abbey of Murbach in 1558 and then by the bishopric of Strasbourg in 1616.

In the 17th century, the Jesuits profoundly transformed the site: the chapel was rebuilt around 1720 (dated Baroque triumphal arch), just like the prioral house and its outbuildings. There is a baroque altar dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Barthélémy. After the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1763, the chapelie returned to the bishopric. The Revolution disperses property: the chapel was attached to the parish of Mollkirch in 1802, while the adjoining buildings (dithium grange, forge) disappeared in the 19th and 20th centuries. Only the chapel, classified as a historical monument in 2014, and archaeological remains remain.

Today's architecture combines elements of Romanesque (south-east), Gothic (chœur, west façade) and Baroque (inner decors, altar). The polygonal bedside, atypically oriented to the north, and the triumphal arch of 1720 testify to successive reconstructions. The prioral house, partly made of wood, preserves a medieval vaulted cellar. The excavations and restorations (especially in 1965) preserved this heritage, linked to the religious and seigneurial history of Alsace, between Germanic and French influences.

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