Niederhaslach

Niederhaslach is a charming village of 1,100 inhabitants, nestled at the entrance of the Hasel valley, a river that runs through the area from north to south and gave the village its name. Situated at the foot of a forested massif, it is deeply connected to the pilgrimage of Saint Florent, a Scottish monk who founded a monastery here in the 7th century. The heart of the village is marked by the 13th-century Gothic collegiate church dedicated to Saint Florent, built by Gerlach de Steinbach, son of Erwin de Steinbach, architect of Strasbourg Cathedral. Classified as a historic monument since 1846, it houses remarkable masterpieces, including 14th and 18th-century stained glass windows depicting scenes from the lives of Saint Florent, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint John the Baptist. In the antechoir, visitors can pray before the relics of Saint Florent, transferred from Strasbourg to Niederhaslach in 810. Near the church, the cloister garden displays about thirty heraldic funerary slabs dating from the 14th to the 16th century, along with other curiosities to discover.