Murbach - Abbaye de Murbach

The church of the former Murbach Abbey was constructed around 1150 got consecrated 1216 and dedicated to Saint Léger. 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.

The tympanum over the left entrance seems brandnew, perfectly produced by a modern CNC-machine. That is the look, but it is more than 800 years old and of course handmade! Well, there is a repaired crack on the right, but the carving itself is perfect. Two rows of nearly identical leaves as a base, vines and grapes all around the semicircle - and then two lions, guarding the door below. The right one shows the tongue. Maybe this tympanum lacks a bit of the creativity, other carvings have show, but the workmanship is absolutely perfect. Chapeau!