Altenstadt
Église Saint-Ulrich
Presentation
A basilica church with three timber-framed naves and a tower-porch dating from the 12th century. The three apses in the choir are from different periods (Gothic in the north, 19th century in the others). The Romanesque nave consists of five bays opening onto the aisles through round arches resting on ashlar pillars. Originally square, the corners of the pillars have been re-cut to give them an octagonal cross-section. A remarkable feature is the lintel carved with seven medallions representing the hand of God in the centre and, on either side, lambs, plant motifs and geometric shapes.
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During excavations completed in 1878, a Gallo-Roman stele dedicated to a deity was found under the altar. The parish church of Altenstadt was therefore built on the site of a Romanesque sanctuary. Altenstadt is believed to be located on the Roman site of Concordia, founded in the first century BC, on the border of the then Empire. The history of the commune is linked to that of the abbey and the town of Wissembourg.
As with the Dompeter in Avolsheim, Saint-Ulrich is considered to be one of the oldest Christian shrines in Alsace. Both are Romanesque buildings dating from the 11th century, with alterations starting in the 12th century.
Saint-Ulrich is the result of several stages of construction, two of which date from the Romanesque period. The original 11th-century building, which had no tower and a shallow chevet, consisted of a nave with three aisles and a non-projecting transept. The tower-porch was built during the second third of the 12th century. The whole of the choir, the small apse and the sacristy (19th century), as well as the Gothic chapel (14th century) are additions or reconstructions.
The elevation of the massive tower, measuring 7 m on each side, is decorated on the lower sections with Lombard bands (horizontal arched friezes and vertical lésenes). The top storey, which is higher, has a rectangular opening and a geminated bay on each side. On the porch, the lintel is decorated with medallions framed by scrolls of flowers. The hand of God and two sheep are depicted. The inscription above refers to Abbot Liuthard de Wissembourg, who ruled the abbey in the early 11th century. It has sometimes been thought that the lintel and tympanum carved with the paschal lamb might have come from another monument in Wissembourg, but the style of the portal is entirely in keeping with the wall into which it is incorporated, and this ensemble probably occupies its original position.
The archivolts of the arcades and the square pillars feature geometric decorations: striations in the shape of fishbones identical to those found in Murbach. This technique only appeared in the 12th century, which seems to indicate that the masonry of a large part of the building was rebuilt at that time, starting with the 11th century foundations.
The oldest part of the building, dating from the 11th and 12th centuries, is the three-aisled nave punctuated by five bays. The arches separating the central nave from the aisles rest on square pillars. This ensemble is made of ashlar, while the upper sections are made of rubble stone, barely roughed-up stones that should have been covered with plaster. The openings in the nave have been restored to their original proportions. The ceilings, recently rebuilt with exposed joists, are in keeping with 11th-century Romanesque construction techniques.