Notre Dame de Thierhurst

According to tradition, the Thierhurst sanctuary stands on the site of an ancient village named Thierheim, founded around 601 in honor of Thierry, son of Childéric, king of Alsace.

This name appears in Colmar annals in 1282 and in a Habsburg register in 1303. The village disappeared around 1375 without written explanation: Rhine floods, Armagnac raids, or a fire during a conflict with Strasbourg could be the cause. Popular tales mention stones and bones unearthed by peasants, as well as a small wood, the *hurst*, growing on the site of the lost village.

The founding legend of the pilgrimage dates back to the 15th century. Shepherds, caught in a violent storm, took shelter under an ancient walnut tree. While drying their clothes by a fire, they discovered a statue of the Virgin, a Pietà, hidden in the trunk or roots of the tree. Amazed, they displayed it in a nearby tree, attracting prayers from passersby. A modest chapel made of branches, then stones recovered from the village, was built to house the statue. Rebuilt and enhanced several times in the 16th and 17th centuries thanks to donors like Agnès de Rappolstein and ladies of Neuf-Brisach, the chapel was ultimately destroyed during the Revolution.

On June 30, 1793, the site was sold as national property. Only the statue and a bell were saved. The statue was kept in Heiteren but reappeared twice on the chapel ruins, surrounded by a mysterious light. The people of Heiteren brought it back in procession, where it remained until the sanctuary was rebuilt.

Around 1842, an oratory was erected on the desecrated site, replaced by a stone chapel between 1809 and 1870. The statue then returned to its original site.

Consecrated on Pentecost Monday 1842 in the presence of three thousand pilgrims, the current chapel has been enhanced over the centuries: new altars in 1870, stained glass windows in 1900 and 1925, and a statue of the archangel Gabriel installed in 1939-1940. The sanctuary, still active, thus continues a tradition both historical and legendary.