Abbaye de Murbach

Murbach

Founded in 728 — 727 according to some sources — by Saint Pirmin, thanks to the generosity of Count Eberhard, brother of the Duke of Alsace, the Benedictine abbey of Murbach became one of the most powerful in the Holy Roman Empire: mistress of vast estates and of entire towns, Guebwiller among them, it ranked in the 16th century among the four foremost abbeys of the Empire, and its abbot reigned as a prince over a principality in its own right. Ravaged in the 10th century by Hungarian horsemen — two monuments there honour the memory of seven monks massacred during the invasion — it recovered its prosperity in the 12th century, when the abbey church of Saint-Léger was built, around 1120–1140, and consecrated in 1216 by Henry II of Thun, bishop of Basel. In 1759 the chapter was transferred to Guebwiller and secularised as a chapter of canons; the abandoned buildings were demolished and their materials reused, the nave disappearing in its turn. What remains today is the east end, the transept and its two tall towers of pink sandstone, a masterpiece of Rhenish Romanesque art whose facades are adorned with elegant, finely carved blind galleries — a solitary, striking silhouette at the head of the valley, among the forests of the Vosges.

Getting there : Abbey church of Saint-Léger, in the heart of the village of Murbach (68530), in a small valley above Guebwiller; information from the tourist office of the Guebwiller area.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound