Rosheim - Saints-Pierre-et-Paul

he construction of the "Église Saints-Pierre-et-Paul" started around 1150. The church is known for the carvings. Though some of these got damaged during the French Revolution, most of them are still in place. Size and the quality of some of them is really breathtaking.

Up on the roof, there is a group of man-eating lions. The giant lions look all the same, but the men all slightly differ. It looks, like all men cower in front of the lions and wait, to get bitten in their heads. The sculpture "freezes" exactly the moment, before the very first bite. The moment, before the suffering. These "pairs" of men and lions are placed on the corners of the gables. On top of the gabel stands an eagle. There - on the very top - is no suffering. There is triumph, symbolized by the eagle. -

Here the victim has no beard, nor is it naked. It wears a long pleated kind of shirt - and may depict a woman. It is standing on his toes. The lion´s claws are already in the shoulder.