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 artistic and pretty extraordenary. Up in the triangel are two carving depicting the "Holy Communion" and the "Sacrament of Penance". Below that are a number of arches. The capitels of the pillars are interesting, but not that special, but some of the bases are.

This is the most "vibrant" of all the carvings seen in Murbach, from the same artist, whose work we saw before already. Here are two heads. The larger one in front consists out of a dynamique triangle. Here is not even a try to carve a "realistic" head. The head seen here can be compared to the sculptures european artists did in the early 20th century. There is a momentum of fast move, the lips and the chin are not centered under the nose, but "follow" this move of the head and seem to swing upwards. The sculpture juts out of the wall, and instead of a shoulder, the carver created a second, smaller head here. A bearded sober looking man, showing his teeth.