Église Saint-Léger de Munster, Catholic parish church in Munster, France
Église Saint-Léger de Munster is a Catholic parish church in Munster, France. The building has a cream plaster exterior with red-brown sandstone corner quoins and window surrounds, a square tower with a slate spire, and a red tiled roof over the nave, while the interior features light plastered walls, pinkish-brown sandstone arches, dark wooden pews with red cushions, and a rounded apse with three stained-glass windows.
The parish was first mentioned in 1261, and the current building's oldest parts, the lower levels of the tower, date from 1590. The nave and choir were rebuilt in the 18th century and enlarged in the 1860s, and the church was shared by Catholics and Protestants from 1686 until 1874.
The church is dedicated to Saint Léger, a seventh-century bishop of Autun, not a local bishop. The 1863 windows by Baptiste Petit-Gérard show regional saints such as Odile, Leo IX, Dagobert and Morand. A sculpted baptismal font stands inside, and since 2008 an astronomical clock on the organ gallery has four dials by Didier Chanut and a rooster that crows at noon.
The church is generally open to visitors during the day, and it is easily reached on foot from the center of Munster. When you go in, take a moment to let your eyes adjust to the light, then walk slowly along the central aisle to see the stained glass and the altar.
The astronomical clock on the organ gallery, installed in 2008, has a rooster that flaps its wings and crows three times every noon before the Angelus, recalling Saint Peter's denial. The clock stands seven meters tall and weighs half a ton, and its dials show the months, moon phases, days, and time.
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