Chapelle Saint-Sébastien de Dambach-la-Ville, Medieval chapel in Dambach-la-Ville, France.
Chapelle Saint-Sébastien is a small church perched on a hillside near Dambach-la-Ville, featuring a Romanesque bell tower and a Gothic nave. The building stands among vineyards with views across the surrounding landscape.
The building was first documented in 1285 and originally served as a parish church for Oberkirch. When Dambach became an episcopal city in 1340, the chapel gradually lost its primary role.
The chapel is named after Saint Sebastian, who was venerated as a protector against disease in this region. This dedication reflects the religious beliefs that shaped the area for centuries.
The chapel stands on a hillside in the Frankstein vineyard, above Dambach-la-Ville. From its forecourt you look down over the village and the plain between Sélestat and the Epfig hill; in clear weather the spire of Strasbourg Cathedral is visible. The building is a classified monument and is looked after by the Confrérie Saint-Sébastien.
The north-east side holds a small Romanesque ossuary, likely containing bones from the old cemetery of Oberkirch. Above its barred entrance, a sandstone plaque reads in German and French: "What you are, we were; what we are, you will become." A local legend links the bones to the 1525 Battle of Scherwiller.
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