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Chapelle Sainte-Odile

Rue Ste Odile, 67750 Scherwiller

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The Chapel of Saint Odile was rebuilt during the period when the Strasbourg Cathedral Chapter was the lord of Scherwiller. It stood on the site of an earlier chapel, dating back to 1118, which had been dedicated to the patron saint of Alsace. In 1298, this chapel served as a parish church and was looked after by a curate. According to legend, Saint Odile is said to have stayed in Scherwiller, where her wet nurse was from. A very important place of pilgrimage, it remained so well into the 18th century. It houses a relic of the saint, donated on 4 May 1836, taken from her tomb and carried in procession from Mont Sainte-Odile on 13 December 1836.  Inside the chapel, behind the grille to the left of the entrance, there is a painting on canvas depicting the infant Jesus nestled against his mother. In front of the grille, on the right, there is a painting by Carola Sorg, which tells the story of Saint Odile.  In the chancel, the original altar made of Vosges sandstone, adorned with a Baroque wooden structure, features a reliquary of Saint Odile. In the centre, the patron saint of Alsace holds in her hands the abbess’s crozier and a book depicting eyes. At the top of the altar stands the Holy Family. On 20 May 1525, during the Battle of Les Rustauds, the soldiers of Duke Antoine of Lorraine set fire to the village of Scherwiller. The two sanctuaries, like the other buildings, fell prey to the flames. Following these tragic events, the parish church was rebuilt in 1528. According to Philippe André Grandidier, the Sainte-Odile Chapel was still a very popular place of pilgrimage in the 18th century. The heirs, the Viscount and the Baron de Beaufranchet, donated the chapel on 16 February 1853 to the municipality of Scherwiller, on condition that a Mass be celebrated annually on 3 February for the repose of the donors’ souls. The minutes of the municipal council meeting of 22 August 1853, chaired by François Xavier Guntz, state that the council accepted the donation. From 2015 onwards, a major restoration project was undertaken by the Scherwiller parish council: interior renovation (altar and furnishings) and the reconstruction (in 2017) of a new bell turret on the nave, identical to the original one which had been demolished. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scherwiller#Chapelle_Sainte-Odile Visible from the outside only.

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Listing provided by Sélestat Haut-Koenigsbourg Tourisme (updated by the source on 26/03/2026).

Tourist office data: DATAtourisme, Licence Ouverte (French open licence), updated 28 October 2026.