Marbach Abbey, Grand Est, France

Marbach Abbey, founded in 1089 by the knight Burckard of Gueberschwihr. The first buildings were the chancel of the church and the St Augustine chapel. This square construction, with a single nave and a semi-circular apse, was the first to be consecrated, while the final addition, the ample Narthex was only completed between 1130 and 1140.

The abbey was burned down 4 times and was pillaged and vandalised more than 10 times. In 1506, the St Augustine chapel was rebuilt in the Gothic style of the period and consecrated in 1509. The peasants’ revolt that broke out in 1525, and the Thirty Years war, fatally weakened the abbey.

In 1791, the abbey was sold at auction. A change in ownership caused the demolition of the buildings and the sale of the stones as construction material. Between 1809 and 1830, the church, the cloister and both towers disappeared as well.

Today, of the original abbey, only the Narthex or “Paradise” remains, with its three wonderful Roman arcades dating from 1152 which were saved and partially restored in 1992. The porch from 1490 and the rampart wall finished in 1496 are also still visible. Today the former abbey is home to the Auguste Biecheler Medical-Educational Institute.

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User Reviews

Laugal Laugal (3 years ago)
Located on the edge of the woods and overlooking the Eguisheim vineyard, this place exudes an atmosphere of serenity as the monks of the Middle Ages knew very well how to unearth to settle there. From an architectural point of view, there are unfortunately only a few traces left of this monastic place which was favored by the Carolingian king Louis Le Germanique. Unfortunately, the revolutionaries and then the stone merchants deigned to leave only the nartex of the abbey church, the entrance porch and the perimeter wall. This takes nothing away from the beauty of this place located on the Alsace Wine Route.

Jean Marie BOMBENGER (3 years ago)
It's a magnificent, even magical place where a lot of things happen...!

jean-marc Heiser (3 years ago)
My review is on the Bildstoeckle wine trail. It shows really different landscapes and above all, always in the vineyard I should say the vines because the grape varieties are different, the culture (spacing, organic, etc.) too. A great pleasure

vincent roy (5 years ago)
Piano concert

VéroS ABIGAEL (6 years ago)
It's a place where you jump back in time, with in particular the vegetable garden of the Middle Ages and the concerts that often take place the same way and are talented...

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