Wissembourg No. 1 / Sebusium / Weißenburg / Weisseburch / Wiesemberg

Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Results: 11 records
sacrament - baptism - immersion baptism - infant baptism
view of basin - interior
view of church exterior in context - east view
view of church interior - detail
view of church interior - painting
view of church interior - painting
view of church interior - painting
view of church interior - painting
view of church interior - painting
view of font
INFORMATION
FontID: 08392WIE
Church/Chapel: Eglise paroissiale [ancienne abbatiale] Saints-Pierre-et-Paul
Church Patron Saints: St. Peter & St. Paul
Church Location: avenue de la sous-préfecture, 67160 Wissembourg, France -- Tel.: +33 3 88 94 16 31
Country Name: France
Location: Bas-Rhin, Grand Est
Directions to Site: Located on the D-263, about 60 km N of Strabourg, just S of the border with Germany
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocèse de Strasbourg
Historical Region: Rhénanie-Palatinat / Rheinland-Pfalz, Alsace
Font Location in Church: Inside the church, W end, N side
Century and Period: 12th - 13th century / 15th century, Medieval
Cognate Fonts: Speyer, in Germany
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Catherine Rieber and the church staff for their information on, and access to, the font
Font Notes: Click to view font notes
Listed and illustrated in Palissy [ref.: PM67000920]: "Ces fonts baptismaux [grès] ont été taillés dans un monolithe de grès de grande taille, diamètre : 190 centimètres. Ils comportent un petit socle circulaire à peine dégrossi, surmonté d'un bassin à 8 lobes que séparent des redents. Au centre, on observe un orifice d'écoulement relié à une petite rigole traversant la paroi [...] 12e siècle [...] Primitivement, ces imposants fonts baptismaux qui pourraient remonter au 11e siècle se situaient dans le vaisseau central sous la tribune. On sait qu'au 19e siècle, et jusque vers la fin du 20e siècle, ils étaient exposés à l'extérieur, dans le jardin de la maison voisine. Autrefois, probablement scellée dans le sol, cette cuve aujourd'hui simplement posée sur le dallage de grès du collatéral nord, côté ouest." The Palissy references PM67000920 and IM67011544 suggest a date in the 11th century in the body of the text, but the first one has "12e siècle" in the date field. Very large monolithic baptismal font made of sandstone. According to local sources it was found buried in a garden and dated locally to the 11th century. This tank or basin has a multi-lobed shape both inside and out, with eight lobes between which are angular protrusions, all vertical to the ground; there are four metal staples in the upper rim of the basin, perhaps related to a covering system of some sort; the bottom of the inner well of the font is almost flat and has two drain (?) holes: a large one in the centre, to which leads a trough that begins on the lower side of the basin, [perhaps to fill the font?], and an additional hole, also in the bottom, but off centre and much smaller than the central one. If it is a font, it is a rare one for the time period assigned -or any other period- on account of its shape and dimensions. Local sources informed us that it was believed to have been buried at the time of the Revolution to avoid its destruction or profane use, and that its origin may have been in a disappeared monastery that existed in the area in the 11th century, hence the dating of the font. The same local sources suspect it is not a font but the basin of a [cloister?] fountain from the old Benedictine monastery here. We could not find any supporting documentation locally of its origin at the time of our visit in August 2002. [NB: a font of similar shape, although of different dimensions exists in the crypt of the Dom St Maria und St Stephan, in Speyer -- cf. Index entry for the latter]
COORDINATES
Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal:
49.037222,
7.941667
Church Latitude & Longitude DMS:
49° 2′ 14″ N,
7° 56′ 30″ E
UTM: 32U 422649 5432133
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material:
stone, sandstone
Number of Pieces: one
Font Shape: multi-lobed (eight lobes)
Basin Interior Shape: multi-lobed (eight lobes)
Basin Exterior Shape: multi-lobed (eight lobes)
Drainage Notes: [cf. Font notes]
Rim Thickness: 9-10 cm*
Diameter (inside rim): 137-170 cm*
Diameter (includes rim): 164-191 cm* / 190 cm**
Basin Depth: 50-57 cm*
Height of Basin Side: 49 cm*
Basin Total Height: 76 cm* / 78 cm**
Font Height (less Plinth): 76 cm* / 78 cm**
Notes on Measurements: *BSI on-site / ** Palissy [ref.: PM67000920]
LID INFORMATION
Notes: [cf. FontNotes regarding the metal staples in the upper rim