Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Kaysersberg Historical Museum is a municipal establishment located in a patrician house of the early 16th century, typical of Alsatian civil architecture. The building, classified as a historical monument since 1991 for its facades, its spiral staircase and roofs, houses collections dedicated to religious art (XIVth–XVIIIth centuries) and local traditions. A rare piece of a "Vierge ouverte", as well as polychrome wooden statues and artisanal objects are presented.

The collections include reproductions of seals attesting to the historical significance of Kaysersberg, as well as works by sculptor François Jacques Rothbletz, such as a Tomb Christ or a calvary. A room is dedicated to local crafts, with chests, fireplace plates, and iron hooves worn by the hermit Leonard Willenecker (1688–1661), a popular figure immortalized by Théophile Schuler. These hooves, weighing 10.7 kg, symbolize his extreme penance.

The building itself, built in the first quarter of the 16th century as evidence of engraved inscriptions, illustrates the architectural heritage of the region. Its spiral staircase, characteristic of the bourgeois houses of the period, leads to the exhibition halls. The museum thus highlights both the religious, artisanal and urban history of Kaysersberg, a former influential city of Alsace.

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