Sélestat - Sainte-Foy

The "Église Sainte-Foy de Sélestat" was built in only 10 years between 1170 and 1180, succeeding an earlier ("Holy Sepulcre")church from around 1085 built by Hildegard von Egisheim. Of this church only the crypt and some carvings remained. Hildegard´s famous grandson Frederick I Barbarossa funded the construction of this new church, that was the center of a benedictine monastery, affiliated to the abbey St. Foy in Conques.

Outside all around the main and the right apse runs a lombard band with carved capitals, Under the roofs here are corbels. I had taken (and uploaded) some photos of these capitals already three months ago, but there are more...

A very untypical "master of the beasts". The man is on his knees, the lower legs bend to the sides (don´t try that!). He holds two chimares (or dragons) with his hands. The giant chimares have snake-like bodies and a lion-like heads. Though the seem to have his lower legs in their mouths, the chimares seem to grin. The master, who controls them, seems to be very stoic.