Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Bergheim School House, located in 5 Church Square, is a 16th century building listed as a historical monument since 1929. This building, originally built as an ossuary in 1550 according to the date engraved on its lintel, features a Renaissance facade adorned with sculptures (medalons, rosaces, angelot) and a partially illegible inscription. The initials E.I.M.A.F. and the date 1550 appear on the entrance door, while a tumbler between two bays in the middle of the hanger carries a latent epitaph evoking mortality ("Memeto mori").

In the 18th century, the building was transformed into a school, with the addition of rectangular windows. In 1964, the floor hosted a local museum, then a major restoration in 1990 changed its interior distribution (scaling, apparent solos). Today, the Bergheim Museum of Art and History occupies all the places, including a section dedicated to the history of witchcraft. The ground floor retains three pillars of square sandstone, while the floor reveals wooden poles and modern skylights.

The building is distinguished by its wall-butter on street, its moulure chambranle door (shell on the lintel), and its two bays paired with carved medallions. Although the ossuary function was attested by historian F.X. Kraus (1884), his subsequent academic use and his current museum vocation made him a multisacular witness to Alsatian history. The property belongs to the municipality of Bergheim, in the department of Haut-Rhin (Great East).

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