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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Kaysersberg monastery, founded in the 3rd quarter of the 15th century, was originally a convent of Franciscans established in 1460 at the invitation of the local magistrate. The Franciscans, who had been present in a hermitage of Val Saint-Jean since 1280, settled there permanently after temporarily leaving between 1566 and 1601. The church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, was consecrated in 1483, while the convent buildings, organized in U around a cloister, bear architectural traces of the 15th and 18th centuries, as evidenced by the 1487 and 1594 vintages.

The site underwent major transformations: the church was rebuilt in 1780 and restored in 1783, before the Franciscans finally left it in 1791. Sold as a national property in 1796, the convent became a hospital in 1853 after drastic improvements, including the division of the church into floors. In 1945, shells damaged his roof during World War II. Ranked a historic monument in 1946, it retains remarkable elements such as an openwork cloister, a 15th century sundial, and remains of murals rediscovered in 1932.

The architecture combines Gothic styles (broken arches, redents) and classical (rectangular windows). The cloister, the heart of the monument, houses a column dated from 1594 surmounted by a statue of St Francis, while the western facade, with an imperial dome campanile, bears commemorative inscriptions in Latin. The buildings, owned by the commune, illustrate the evolution of a religious place in hospital, reflecting the political and social upheavals of Alsace from the 18th to the 20th century.

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