Steinbrunn-le-Bas No. 1 / Niedersteinbrunn / Steinebronnen inferius / Steinebrun

INFORMATION

Font ID: 03815STE
Object Type: Baptismal Font3
Font Century and Period/Style: 2nd - 3rd century (?), Early Christian
Church / Chapel Name: Source Saint-Colomban
Font Location in Church: Not in a church
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Columba [aka Colmcille, Colomban, Columcille]
Church Notes: the fountain/well was located near a chapel (Chapelle de Sainte Apolline)
Church Address: 1 Rue de Strasbourg, 68440 Steinbrunn-le-Bas, France
Site Location: Haut-Rhin, Grand Est, France, Europe
Directions to Site: Located off the D21-D68 crossroads, 2-3 km S of Bruebach, 10 km S of Mulhouse city centre
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocèse de Strasbourg
Historical Region: Alsace
Additional Comments: recycled font / fountain font?: known and used by the Romans as a fountain in the 2nd cent AD, later became a source for baptism in the Middle Ages.
Font Notes:
Le Patrimoine des communes du Haut-Rhin (1998, v. 2, p. 1155) relates the discovery in 1958 of a limestone basin near the source known as "Colombansbrunnen" or "Taufsteinbrunnen" in the town of Steinbrunn-le-Bas. The fountain has apparently been known since Roman times, the 2nd cent. A.D., but is said to have been christianised in the Middle Ages and dedicated to the saintly Irish monk.

COORDINATES

UTM: 32T 377488 5281658

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, limestone
Font Shape: sunken font, round
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round

REFERENCES

  • Le Patrimoine des communes du Haut-Rhin, Charenton-le-Pont: FLOHIC, 1998, vol. 2, p. 1155