Old Schwartzenthann Convent

Around 1089, a convent of Augustinian canons regular was founded in Marbach, in the commune of Obermorschwihr. It also housed a community of women. In 1117, the canonesses received land in Wintzfelden and left Marbach to build an oratory dedicated to the Virgin in 1124, along with a small convent building. Despite their departure, they remained connected to their original convent. In the 12th century, the community grew to about forty members, as evidenced by numerous graves in their cemetery. The convent reached its artistic peak in 1154 with the creation of the famous Guta-Sintram codex, calligraphed by the canoness Guta of Schwartzenthann and illuminated by the canon Sintram of Marbach. This work is considered the finest example of Romanesque illumination in Alsace since the loss of the Hortus deliciarum. The convent's illumination workshop produced several manuscripts now held in various European museums. The convent church was expanded in 1214, but from the 13th century, the convent suffered attacks linked to the political instability of the Empire. It was reconciled in 1280, but in 1298, troops of the Count of Ferrette devastated it again. Repairs were undertaken in 1313, but decline accelerated at the end of the 14th century, notably under the influence of the abbot of Marbach who emptied the convent of its occupants. Between 1484 and 1533, the site was partially occupied, although it was sacked again by peasants in 1525. The last sisters left Schwartzenthann in 1531 to join Schoenensteinbach. In 1543, the commune of Soultzmatt bought the convent from the Bishop of Strasbourg. Its ruins were then used as a quarry by locals until the 18th century, providing materials for the choir of Soultzmatt church and the Schaefertal chapel. The remains were rediscovered by chance in 1969: a Romanesque sarcophagus and funerary slabs were sheltered in Wintzfelden. The base of the church nave was uncovered, as well as the location of the convent buildings and hospice. However, vegetation has since overrun the site, making any precise description of the ruins impossible. A Romanesque holy water font from the convent, now kept at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, features decoration similar to that of the tomb recess housing the nave sarcophagus.