Despite all these torments, history has left us with a truly remarkable monument
The oldest church in Alsace
Ottmarsheim Abbey claims to be the oldest church in Alsace. The Dompeter of Avolsheim (opposite) in the Bas-Rhin department, disputes this claim. But there is very little remaining of this ancient church dating from the 10th century due to the enormous amount of modifications made to it in the 12th, 13th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Not only is Ottmarsheim Abbey the oldest religious edifice but it is also the oldest building in Alsace. The numerous castles that line the foothills of the Vosges were only built from the 12th and 13th centuries on, and the only Roman houses that remain also date from the same period.
It is true that a great number of abbeys were founded in Alsace as early as the 6th century (Marmoutier, Neuwiller, …), in the 7th century (Wissembourg, Munster …) and especially during the Carolingian era (Masevaux, Murbach, Andlau …). Today there are no visible remains of these first timbered structures as they were vulnerable to the fires that broke out during the strife of the 9th and 10th centuries.
The weaknesses and quarrels of Charlemagne’s successors weakened the royal authority and led to rapidly spreading anarchy as early as the 9th century. Alsace was unable to defend itself against the invasion by the Hungarians who came across the Rhine in 917, ransacked and pillaged the townships and villages, the churches and abbeys and even assassinated the bishop of Basle.
When Rodolphe began the construction of his abbey at the dawn of the 11th century, Alsace was in a pitiful state. The great abbeys which were torched during this fateful 10th century were only renovated from the 12th century onwards. Murbach in 1120, Marmoutier from 1150 to name but two of the most famous ones in Alsace.
The oldest church in Alsace
Ottmarsheim Abbey claims to be the oldest church in Alsace. The Dompeter of Avolsheim (opposite) in the Bas-Rhin department, disputes this claim. But there is very little remaining of this ancient church dating from the 10th century due to the enormous amount of modifications made to it in the 12th, 13th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Not only is Ottmarsheim Abbey the oldest religious edifice but it is also the oldest building in Alsace. The numerous castles that line the foothills of the Vosges were only built from the 12th and 13th centuries on, and the only Roman houses that remain also date from the same period.
It is true that a great number of abbeys were founded in Alsace as early as the 6th century (Marmoutier, Neuwiller, …), in the 7th century (Wissembourg, Munster …) and especially during the Carolingian era (Masevaux, Murbach, Andlau …). Today there are no visible remains of these first timbered structures as they were vulnerable to the fires that broke out during the strife of the 9th and 10th centuries.
The weaknesses and quarrels of Charlemagne’s successors weakened the royal authority and led to rapidly spreading anarchy as early as the 9th century. Alsace was unable to defend itself against the invasion by the Hungarians who came across the Rhine in 917, ransacked and pillaged the townships and villages, the churches and abbeys and even assassinated the bishop of Basle.
When Rodolphe began the construction of his abbey at the dawn of the 11th century, Alsace was in a pitiful state. The great abbeys which were torched during this fateful 10th century were only renovated from the 12th century onwards. Murbach in 1120, Marmoutier from 1150 to name but two of the most famous ones in Alsace.
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