Sélestat
Église Sainte-Foy
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The former conventual church of a priory belonging to the Benedictine abbey of Conques, Sainte-Foy wabuilt between 1152 and 1190. The decorative richness of the two storeys of arcatures set with billet chords on the octagonal tower of the transept crossing contrasts with the elegant implicity of the smooth stone spire that towers over it. In the same way, the smooth walls of the foundations of the towers on the west facade contrast with the network of arcatures and colonnettes inspired by Lorraine that decorate the entrance to the porch. The nave, vaulted on ribbed crossbeams resting on whistles, consists of three double bays alternating strong and weak piers.
History: In 1087, Hildegarde, widow of Frederick of Büren, had a chapel built under the invocation of the Holy Sepulchre and consecrated by her son, Bishop Othon of Strasbourg. In 1092, Othon, Frédéric and Conrad of Hohenstaufen, returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, stopped off at Conques Abbey. They suggested to their mother Hildegarde that they donate the new chapel to the monks of Conques in Rouergue, who had impressed them with their favour. In 1094, the monks of Conques moved to Sélestat and the priory was given the name of Sainte Foy by the mother house.
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A majestic edifice, a sum of innovations and influences, Sainte-Foy is the former conventual church of a Benedictine priory which in the Middle Ages depended on the abbey of Conques-en-Rouergue. This is where the first monks came from.
It is generally considered that Sainte-Foy, built by masters from outside Alsace in the third quarter of the 12th century, is similar to contemporary buildings from Lorraine or Burgundy.
The 19th century alterations mainly concerned the upper sections of the nave.
The main characteristic of Sainte-Foy is that it is a three-towered building, a feature found only in Guebwiller in Alsace. The building is built on a basilica plan with a transept that protrudes only slightly. The arms are smaller than the crossing. The choir is flanked by side chapels closed by apses. The building underwent major alterations in the 19th century to restore the Romanesque features that had been lost when the Jesuits transformed it into a Baroque church in the 17th century.
The three-aisled nave is made up of three double bays, which means that the supports alternate: strong, made up of a pile with four engaged columns, and weak, with a three-lobed section. The bases of these pillars also have an original appearance. The vaulting is typical of late 12th-century Alsatian Romanesque buildings, with a four-sided rib vault in the nave and cross vaults in the aisles.
All the capitals and pillar bases feature varied sculptural decoration in a style that differs from the Alsatian tradition. Here, the emphasis is on geometric ornamentation rather than figurative motifs, which can only be found on the capitals of the south-west pillar of the crossing and on a bas-relief that is probably older.
Located beneath the choir, the crypt consists of a long room giving access to a square space with a groin vault. This is probably where a replica of Christ’s tomb was located.
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