Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Gloeckelsberg tower, located in Blaesheim in the Lower Rhine, is a medieval vestige of the 11th and 12th centuries. It once constituted the porch of a parish church dedicated to Saint-Blaise, destroyed around 1833. This monument, classified since 1898, dominates the local hill (198 m above sea level) and bears witness to Romanesque architecture, although its roof was modified in 1873 to adopt a creneled brick terrace.

Originally, the tower was attached to a 24-metre-long nave, demolished after the Thirty Years' War. Four carved capitals (monstrous animals, sirens, palmettes) and three columns, dated around 1100, were saved and transferred to the Museum of the Work of Notre Dame in Strasbourg. The inlet lintel, now hammered, probably represented a mystical lamb, while the arch in full bending towards the nave has two naked figures.

The site, a high place of Roman paganism during Christianization, preserves traces of its religious past. Gelatinous berries remain under the current terrace. The tower, a communal property, is accessible via the rue de la Montagne. Its history reflects the architectural and cultural transformations of medieval Alsace, between Roman heritage and Roman art.

The decorative elements deposited in Strasbourg, such as capitals with stylized motifs, illustrate the artistic influence of the era. The partial destruction of the church in the 19th century and subsequent changes (roof in 1876) highlight the challenges of preserving the Alsatian heritage. Today, the tower stands as a silent witness to this complex past.

External links