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Origin and history

Lupstein's ossuary is a religious building built in the 1st quarter of the 16th century, more precisely in 1503, as indicated by the date on its structure. It is located in the cemetery of Lupstein, a town of Lower Rhine, between the parish church and the town hall, on Main Street. This monument, typical of Alsatian funerary architecture, was used to welcome the bones exhumed from the graves to free space in the cemetery.

The ossuary was created under the direction of Matheus Swen, a construction manager whose name is associated with its construction. An inscription or monogram, as well as a tasker's mark, testify to its origin and craftsmanship. The building was listed as historic monuments by order of 14 January 1993, thereby recognizing its heritage value. Today it belongs to the municipality of Lupstein.

Architecturally, the ossuary is part of the landscape of the small Alsatian villages, where these buildings played a role both practical (management of burials) and symbolic (recall of human mortality). Its central location, between places of worship and administration, reflects its importance in the community life of the time. Ossuaries were often built near churches, as is the case here, to facilitate their use in successive burials.

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