The church was originally part of a Benedictineabbey founded by the bishop of Strasbourg, Remigius of Strasbourg [fr] in 770. On 10 May 777, Remigius brought relics of Sophia and her daughters from Rome, where they had been given to him by Pope Adrian I. He dedicated the abbey to St Sophia, and the church both to Mary and St Trophimus. Remigius died on 23 March 783 and was buried in the church.[1][5]
During the Thirty Years' War, the church was pillaged in 1632 by the Swedish troops under General Horn. In 1792, the buildings were confiscated by French Revolutionaries and the church was turned into an inn. The relics of Sophia and her daughters were dispersed. In 1822, all the buildings except the church were demolished. The church became the parish church of Eschau. Remains of the 12th-century cloister were found thanks to archaeological excavations in 1866, 1917, 1919 and 1929, and are shown in the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame in Strasbourg; some more fragments were found in 1987 and are kept in the town hall of Eschau.[5][6][8]
In the 1930s, a tradition of Russian Orthodox pilgrimage to the church was established, notably by the visit of archimandriteAndronik [ru] in 1937. The following year, 1938, bishop Charles Ruch [fr] brought "new" relics of St Sophia from Rome, which had been authenticated by CardinalFrancesco Marchetti Selvaggiani.[2]
During World War II, the church was damaged again, in 1944−45. It was thoroughly restored from 1958 until 1969. A new bell tower was built in 1987, 80 m (260 ft) behind the church. The installation of underfloor heating in 1995 brought other lost fragments to light, among them two sarcophagi.[5][6]
Description
The church is of modest dimensions. Its present layout and volumes are reminiscent of the abbey church of Reichenau, and of St. Godehard, Hildesheim. Some of the features of the church have been much altered since its completion in the 11th century: the floor of the nave was originally some 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) lower and the windows of the nave were much smaller. Conversely, other features, like the apse, have remained unchanged for 1,000 years. The inside displays several Gothic and Baroque statues of saints as well as Renaissance sculptures such as a head of John the Baptist on a platter, and ledger stones from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.[9] The choir window reuses a Gothic stained glass panel originally from the former Dominican church of Strasbourg, destroyed in 1870.[6]
Gallery
The apse
Central nave, looking to the choir
Central nave, looking to the entrance
Chasse and statue of Saint Sophia and her daughters