Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativité is the main church in

Saverne Saverne (, ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a mountain pass, pass ...

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It was first built in the 12th century as a parish church before being re-consecrated to

saint Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

in the late 13th century. It was converted into a collegiate church of Augustinian

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in the 14th and 15th century and held that status by 1485 at the latest. It is now the town's parish church and has been listed a historic monument since 1977. The oldest items of church furniture are the 1495 pulpit (with stone marks by Hans Hammer, master mason at

Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', ), also known as Strasbourg Minster (church), Minster (), is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of ...

) and a carved wooden sculpture of the Virgin and Child from the same era, probably by

Nikolaus Hagenauer Nikolaus Hagenauer (c. 1445/1460 — before 1538) was a German late Gothic art, gothic Sculpture, sculptor from Hagenau (Alsace in the Holy Roman Empire, present day France). He was most likely born as Niklas Zimmerlin, but was also documented and ...

. The choir has a 16th-century crucifix, a 15th-century pieta and part of a

limewood ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Britain and Irelan ...

sculpture of the

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

, probably from a 1486 altarpiece. The windows in the main nave were almost completely destroyed by a bombing raid on the night of 30–31 July 1918.

Architecture

Bell Tower Porch

The bell tower is the part of the church that displays the most Romanesque style, with its archery banners and its checkered frieze that is typical of Romanesque buildings in the region, such as Marmoutier, Reutenbourg or Schweheim. The original tower had only four levels that were surmounted by a simple roof with two inclined slopes. The roof was raised at the end of the 14th century. This is why the upper two levels of the current tower are made of different stones and includes claw holes in comparison to the bottom levels of the church. During this time, a large frame spire was also built at the top of the church. This spire was knocked down in 1760 and was then replaced with a pyramid roof. This roof was then slightly modified in 1834, which gave it its current shape. During this time, the last seats of the tower were also modified, which also explains their different aspect. The last level of the bell tower opens to the outside with twin bays with Romanesque style columns on each side. The staircase leaning to the South side of the church was built in the 19th century. Accessible by this staircase is the central part of the church. From the nave, there is access to the upper floors of the bell tower as well as the set of attics. The arch above the gate into the church is very simple and has no embellishments upon it. The doors of the church that enclose it were installed in 1894 and are a Neo-Romanesque style, inspired by the doors of the church of Saint-Jean-Saverne. To the right of the door, there is an engraved inscription that is 183cm in length. The inscription is in German and reads ‘Dis it's di holz dan: Zorn. An engraving representing a rider, almost erased, is visible to the left of the inscription. The niche above the door is possibly a post construction modification. The statue of the Virgin and Child was installed 1874, replacing a previous statue of the Virgin and Child from the 15th century, which is now on display at the Musée de Saverne. ----

References

= Sources

= * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saverne Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativite Romanesque architecture in France Churches in Bas-Rhin