St. Faith's Church, Sélestat

St. Faith's Church, Sélestat
Église Sainte-Foy de Sélestat
Country	France
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
History
Founded	1170
Architecture
Heritage designation	Monument historique
Designated	1862
Style	Romanesque architecture
Completed	1180
Specifications
Length	44.2 metres (145 ft)
Height	42 metres (138 ft)

The Church of Saint Faith of Sélestat (French: Église Sainte-Foy de Sélestat) is a major Romanesque architecture landmark along the Route Romane d'Alsace in the East of France. The church having been built over a very short time span (only ten years, from 1170 to 1180), it appears strikingly homogenous in style and proportions, however some parts have been completed and others modified in a Romanesque Revival style by the architect Charles Winckler (sometimes spelled Winkler) between 1889 and 1893. During that restoration campaign, a crypt dating back to around 1085 was discovered and made accessible as well. Like many major buildings in Alsace the church is made of pink Vosges mountains sandstone.

History

Hildegard von Egisheim, also known as Hildegard von Schlettstadt (the old German name of Sélestat), the wife of Friedrich von Büren, one of the ancestors of the House of Hohenstaufen, founded a first sanctuary dedicated to Saint Faith at this place around 1085, of which the crypt is today the sole remain. In 1094, the centre of the adoration of Saint Faith was moved to Conques, where a grander sanctuary and pilgrimage site was being built. The church was rebuilt in the 12th century as the centre of a monastery. In 1615, it became a Jesuit college (see also Jesuit Church, Molsheim), which it remained until 1767. The church, which was then menaced of destruction by the town council, was saved by the intervention of the Bishop of Strasbourg, Louis Constantin de Rohan The Jesuits have left their mark on the church's furniture, most notably the pulpit, an important example of local Baroque art. After the restoration of 1889–1893, the church had to be repaired again in the 1940s, having been damaged during the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine in the last weeks of 1944.

Among the churches many features, the ornate capitals crowning the columns inside and pillars of the windows outside belong to the finest. Saint Faith's two pipe organs (the tribune organ of 1892 and the choir organ of 1880) have been repaired several times since their installation, they do however still show beautifully crafted cases.

Dimensions

Some of the building's dimensions are the following:

• Outside length: 44.2 metres (145 ft)
• Height of crossing tower: 42 metres (138 ft)
• Width of façade: 16.8 metres (55 ft)
• Inside length: 38.9 metres (128 ft)
• Inside height of central nave: 11.1 metres (36 ft)
• Inside height of lateral naves: 5.65 metres (18.5 ft)
• Inside height of crossing: 10.9 metres (36 ft)
• Inside height of apse: 9.75 metres (32.0 ft)
• Width of central nave: 6.63 metres (21.8 ft)
• Width of lateral naves: 3.4 metres (11 ft)

Gallery

• Sélestat - église Ste Foy - 1902.jpg

  The church in 1902

• Eglise Sainte-Foy Selestat Vierungsturm.jpg

  The crossing tower

• Sélestat SteFoy 02.JPG

  The church's porch

• Sélestat SteFoy 04.JPG

  Tympanum of the main portal

• Sélestat SteFoy 13.JPG

  Inside, looking west

• Sélestat SteFoy 09.JPG

  The baroque pulpit

See also

• St. George's Church, Sélestat

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• St. Faith's Church, Sélestat at Structurae