Chapelle Saint-Pierre-et-Paul de Wissembourg, Medieval chapel in Wissembourg, France.
The Chapelle Saint-Pierre-et-Paul in Wissembourg is a Romanesque chapel built of rough reddish-brown stone, attached to the east cloister wing of the church of St Peter and Paul. Its three-aisled hall has groin vaults in the west and a barrel vault in the easternmost bay, carried by six free-standing columns with Ottonian cushion capitals facing matching half-columns on the walls. The aisles end in a flat wall to the east.
The monastery of Wissembourg was founded in the 7th century, but nothing of that period survives above ground. The Romanesque chapel was built around 1070 as part of a new monastic complex; its capitals, related to those of Hirsau, date it to about 1074. In the Gothic period most buildings were rebuilt, leaving the chapel, the church bell tower and the north transept wall as the main Romanesque remains. Secularised during the French Revolution, it served as a wine cellar until 1960.
The chapel was secularised during the French Revolution and served as a wine cellar until 1960, which explains the bare stone interior seen today. Its name links it to the abbey of Saint Peter and Paul, whose church stands beside it. The building has been classified as a monument historique since 1973.
The chapel stands on Avenue de la Sous-Préfecture, attached to the partly surviving east wing of the cloister of the church of Saint Peter and Paul. It has been a listed monument historique since 1973 and is not used for worship; it served as a wine cellar until 1960. Look for the dark wooden double door in the rough reddish-brown stone wall.
The chapel was long used as a wine cellar, from the French Revolution until 1960, after the monastery was secularised. Its vaults rest on six free-standing columns with Ottonian cushion capitals, matched by half-columns on the walls. The building is attached to the surviving east wing of the cloister.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,658 contributors worldwide.