ADT - Tourisme en Alsace

 Guebwiller

The monastic complex of the Dominicans of Upper Alsace is located in the centre of Guebwiller, next to the hospital and about 30 metres from the Hôtel de Ville.
It comprises a church, dedicated to “Saint Peter and Saint Paul”, a cloister, a convent and a more recent construction dating from the 18th century. Dominican brothers administered the complex since its creation in 1312, until 1791.

The Dominican order is a beggars’ order that was created in Toulouse in 1215 by Saint Dominic. It marked a profound rupture with the older monastic tradition. The beggars refuted all of the compromises that had historically guided the monastic movement. They retained only the essence of its spirit (charity, penitence and humility) and the practice of communal living.

The creation of beggars’ orders responded in the most appropriate way possible to the newly created needs of Western thought and its material evolution in the form of cities. It was an urban order implanted within a secular milieu suffering from depravity: hence the priority was preaching. The Dominicans occupied the top position in three domains: preaching, methodical research and teaching. Strengthened by their success among academics, they developed a network of convents throughout Christendom.

The former convent was acquired by the Conseil Général du Haut-Rhin in 1990 and was destined to become an important site for music in all its forms. Classed as a “Monument Historique”, a campaign of archaeological excavations was carried out in various sites (church, cloister and gardens), in order to evaluate the archaeological value of the site.
The Conseil Général is in charge of the restoration of the buildings and the development of the whole site. There have also been several restoration campaigns for the painted murals.

Les Dominicains de Haute-Alsace
34 rue des Dominicains
F - 68500 Guebwiller
Tél : 03 89 62 21 81
Fax : 03 89 74 19 92
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www.les-dominicains.com