The chapels of Mont Sainte-Odile and the eagle overlooking the old Fernet-Branca distillery are the two monuments selected in Alsace, and unveiled this Monday, September 2, for this new edition of the Heritage Lottery.
The 100 new winners selected for the new edition of the Heritage Lottery were revealed this Monday, September 2 by the Heritage Mission for the preservation of heritage in danger as well as the Ministry of Culture.
In Alsace, two sites were selected, one for each department.
“They will benefit from the financial support of the seventh edition of the Mission Patrimoine games offer which is launched today. The amount of the endowment for each site will be announced at the end of the year,” indicates the foundation led by Stéphane Bern.
• Chapels of Mont Sainte-Odile
A major spiritual site in Alsace was selected by the Heritage Lottery with the Mont Saint-Odile sanctuary in Ottrot.
The Tears and Angels Chapels are currently closed to the public for security reasons. The mosaics inside the buildings have been damaged by time and weather conditions. The project consists of restoring these mosaics and consolidating the structures of the two chapels which are becoming very fragile.
On the plateau of the sanctuary are the two chapels, that of Tears and that of Angels. The chapels contain mosaic works made by Alphonse Gentil and Eugène Bourdet in 1935 and 1947 respectively. The site was classified as a historical monument in 1997.
Once secured and restored, the chapels can be reopened to the public.
• Eagle of the old Fernet-Branca distillery (Saint-Louis)
The other Alsatian site chosen for the Heritage Lottery is a metal structure overlooking the old Fernet-Branca distillery in Saint-Louis (Haut-Rhin). 300,000 bottles of this digestif came out of this factory every year until the activity declined and stopped in the year 2000.
Today, the building along the railway line houses a foundation for contemporary art. The building is topped by a copper eagle, the emblem of the Fernet-Branca brand, made to dominate the company’s pavilion at the Milan International Exhibition in 1906.
However, the bird is in a pitiful state and its metal structure needs to be checked to treat its metal structure. A restoration is also planned for its support: a glass globe. Finally, the funding raised for the project will make it possible to repaint the facade of the building listed as a historic monument.
