Saint-Jean-Saverne

Presentation

This foundation of the abbey of Saint-Georges in the Black Forest dates from 1150-1160. The building comprises 3 naves without a transept, each with 10 bays and ending in three semicircular apses. The porch tower (which conceals the Romanesque façade) and the outer buttresses of the nave are 18th-century additions. The exterior decoration is concentrated mainly on the apses and the central apse. Engraved columns and Lombard bands punctuate this magnificent chevet, which is also adorned with a billet frieze, arches resting on consoles with abstract or figurative decoration and sculpture in the round. The hinges on the entrance door are a unique masterpiece of Romanesque ironwork in Alsace.

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