Murbach - Abbaye de Murbach

The church of the former Murbach Abbey was constructed around 1150 got consecrated 1216 and dedicated to Saint Leger. The naves got knocked down 1738, to give room for a baroque church, that never got built. Since 1760 it serves as a parish church, what did not prevent it from getting devasted by rioters during the French Revolution. So all that left is the transept - and the choir. The place of the former naves, behind the facade, is a cemetery today.

The facade is impressive. The choir is "flat", following architecural traditions from Cluny and Hirsau. Some of the carvings are pretty extraordenary. Up in the triangel are two carving depicting the "Holy Communion" and the "Sacrament of Penance". below that trangel are a number of arches. The capitels of the pillars are interesting, but not that special, but some of the bases are very special.

Here is a base, forming a kind of hat, under which a face is visible with really bulging eyes. The face seems to be very easy, very "graphical", like taken from a drawing. The left eye seems round, the right is more an ellipse. And he is chewing something.....He is clearly staring from above at the visitors, standing below him on the ground. Maybe he will - spit..