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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Gueberschwihr St. Pantaloon Church, located in the Upper Rhine, is an emblematic monument of the Alsatian heritage. Its Romanesque bell tower, dated the second quarter of the 12th century, has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1841. Built in pink sandstone, typical material of local quarries, it dominates the large square of the wine village, located on the wine road of Alsace, south of Colmar. This bell tower is one of the rare remains of the early Romanesque church, completely vaulted in the middle of the 12th century, a rarity for the time in Alsace.

The early church, oriented, included a vaulted nave, a transept with a cross tower, and a choir on crypt, also vaulted. His apse was adorned with leesenes and a polychrome checker motif, typical of Alsatian Romanesque art. In the 19th century, in the face of population growth (more than 1500 parishioners in 1835), the church was first enlarged in 1835-1836 under the direction of an architect named Pétin, then completely rebuilt between 1874 and 1877 by Jean-Baptiste Schacre, in a neo-Roman style.

The 19th century reconstruction preserved the Romanesque bell tower and the north arm of the original transept, while reorienting the nave and choir perpendicular to the old church. The works, marked by the dates of 1876 (slides in screws) and 1877 (pignon), incorporated elements like a false triforium decorated with paintings and arches. The tower, consolidated in 1887 by Charles Winkler after the destruction of the old nave, has three levels of bays in full hanger and carved cubic capitals.

Around the church, the ancient cemetery, perhaps fortified, housed a chapel-ossuary dedicated to Saint Michael, destroyed in 1835. Remains of this chapel, probably dating from the second half of the 12th century, remain on the west retaining wall. A chapel housing a cave of Lourdes was added in the parish enclosures around 1880.

The bell tower, classified in 1841, is a rare testimony of Alsatian Romanesque architecture. Its vaulted ground floor, with ring key and cubic columns, illustrates the technical mastery of medieval builders. The current openings date back to the 19th century, but the Romanesque structure, with its serrated friezes and twined bays, remains a masterpiece of regional medieval art.

In 2019, the entire church, including the remains of previous buildings and the crypt, was included in the inventory of Historic Monuments. This site, owned by the commune, bears witness to the architectural and religious evolution of Alsace, from the 12th century to the present.

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