Saint-Sebastien vault of Dambach-the-City

The vault Saint-Sebastien is located at Dambach-the-City, in the the Low-Rhine (France).

Situation

The Saint-Sebastien vault is located on the heights of Dambach-the-City, with hillside in full vineyard of Frankstein. Of his square, one dominates the village and the area neighborhood between Sélestat, with the south, and the hill of Epfig, in north. The sight relates to the east on Kayserstuhl and the Black Forest. In clear weather, it is possible to see the arrow of the Cathédrale of Strasbourg.

History

The vault is the old parish church of the village disappeared from Oberkirch. The first document mentioning the building goes back to 1285.

The rise in Dambach to the row of city, the construction of its fortifications and the construction of a news and large church caused the decline of Oberkirch. It is however the ordinance of the bishop Jean II of Lichtenberg of 1356, specifying that all the offices were to be celebrated with the Saint-Etienne church of Dambach which precipitated the disappearance of the village. Saint-Sebastien remained nevertheless a place of pilgrimage for the faithful ones of the neighborhoods.

The same year, the vault was given to the abbey of the Augustins canons of Dachstein then to the cathedral of Strasbourg in 1359. In the middle of the 15th century, it was yielded to the Civil hospices of Strasbourg following the example Saint-Etienne church and the vault of Altenwiller.

In 1480, the pope Innocent VIII removed two vicariates of Oberkirch and Altenwiller.

The vault was confiscated with the French revolution. The Zaepffel priest and his vicar refused to lend oath to the civil constitution and had to give up officially the performance of their duties. They however continued to say the mass to the vault. This competition was the cause of a disagreement with the sworn in priest. The consequence was the auction of the building and the contiguous field in 1792. The new purchasers sold shortly after the field in batches. Thus the villagers in favor of the Zaepffel priest collectively acquérirent the vault for an amount of 1420 pounds. The 32 most generous givers thus saw entrusted the administration of the vault. Their descendants form today the Confrérie Saint-Sebastien , association of local right Alsatian-native of the Moselle region, person in charge of his conservation and its maintenance.

The shortly after the Second world war, the vault was in sorry state, partly because of the war damagees. It is thanks to the financial assistance of the historic buildings, of the general advice, of the commune, but also of the population dambachoise that the brotherhood could join together the required funds with the restoration. It was returned to faithful and to the visitors the Easter Monday 1962.

Structure

The vault is a mixing various architectural styles. With a Romance bell-tower succeeds a Gothic nave and bedside . The sacristy dates from the Renaissance. The furnace bridge is as for him a splendid work Baroque out of wood.

Outside

The turn-bell-tower

The turn-bell-tower, of Romance style and dating from the 12th century century, is the oldest part of the building. Massive and square, it does not present to its base any opening of origin, which lets suppose a primitive function of defense. On its northern frontage is leant a recent construction being used as housing with the guard. The stage of the bells is bored of four bigéminées windows with arcades in stone semicircular arch of size. The tower is capped with a truncated pyramidal roof, a square wood crowning and finally with a surmounted octagonal pinnacle of a cross.

The central building

A large covered building of a roof as a bâtière connects the tower and the bedside. It contains the nave. The southern wall is bored of a Romance door contiguous with the tower, of a large rectangular window dating from the 17th century century with a glazing in bottom of bottle as well as two Gothic windows of the 15th century century. In the east, a building Renaissance of the 17th century century is currently used as sacristy accessible by an external staircase. The northern frontage is bored of two Gothic windows , hanging of that of the southern frontage, and a Romance window dormant.

The bedside

The bedside, dating from the beginning of the XIV° century, is of Gothic style . It is shifted compared to the nave. The ridge of the western pinion is surmounted by a cross florencée out of granite. Four staged buttresses furnish the part is bedside and enclose three Gothic bays with stained glasses. The niche ranging between the two directed buttresses is/south-eastern sheltered a sculptural unit of wood representing Jesus with the Mount of Olives, disappeared today.

The martyrdom

With the right of the sacristy is a Christ in cross going back to the 1687 called locally miraculous Croix . The face of Christ evokes simultaneously the pain and the mercy. Its glance also seems to follow the visitor in all the directions.

The ossuary

The northern part of the pinion is nave includes/understands a cellar arched in semicircular arch of very old aspect. Its original function remains a mystery just like the semi-cylindrical convexity which overhangs its entry. Are they the remainders of a primitive church? The part shelters an ossuary reccueillant most probably the remainders of the old cemetery of the church of Oberkirch. A local legend allots the origin of the bones to the victims of the repression of the duke Antoine of Lorraine at the time of the Révolte of the bumpkins. A battle indeed proceeded not far from there, with Scherwiller, on May 20th, 1525.

Interior

The nave

The nave is a 16,5 m length building. Its width lies between 9,5m with dimensions chorus and 10,5 m with dimensions bell-tower. The nave is overcome by a flat ceiling out of wooden with beams apparantes. A platform occupies the bottom of the church. The wall before nave is bored of a large pointed arch of pink sandstone, excentré towards the south.

Chorus

It was built at the beginning of the 14th century century. It takes the shape of an intersecting ribs vault with a polychrome keystone representing the face of Christ. The back top of three bays is decorated with stained glasses, unfortunately masked by the high altar.

Furniture

The furnace bridge

The most remarkable part of the vault is its high altar Baroque finely carved and richly decorated. Resting on a Romance stone of furnace bridge , it is crowned of a statue of the Martyr of Saint Sebastien. The furnace bridge illustrates, on the one hand, the Trinité in a vertical reading: from top to bottom, the Father represented by a man of ripe age to long beard, the Holy Ghost in the shape of a dove and the Son child and, in addition, the Holy Family, in a horizontal reading including/understanding Jesus surrounded by his maternal parents and grandparents. This chief of work is the creation of the brothers Philippe and Clément Winterhalter originating in Breisgau and the cabinetmaker dambachois Johannes Eusebius Beyer. The furnace bridge was carried out between 1690 and 1692.

The statuary

The vault shelters several statues of very different times. Oldest of them is a Vierge with the Child out of wooden dated from the end of the 15th century. The exposed statue is a copy carried out with the assistance of the Musée of Unterlinden of Colmar in which could, in addition, being exposed the original statue. Dating from the 16th century, a statue reliquary of Saint Sebastien out of polychrome wood rests on the side furnace bridge right. Are there also representations of Saint Urbain (17th century) and of Saint Nicolas (18th century). Two statues of the 18th century posed beside the side furnace bridges represent the Michaelmas embanking the dragon and Saint Urbain.
Les side walls of the nave is decorated with a series of six arms of light out of wood (candlesticks in the form of front armlever and hands).

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