Visit a museum in Strasbourg: the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre Dame

One of the only museums in Europe entirely dedicated to medieval and Renaissance art.

The Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame can be found on place du Château, practically at the foot of Strasbourg Cathedral. Not only is the museum devoted to the construction of the famous cathedral, it also covers seven centuries of art in Strasbourg upper Rhine region (Alsace, Baden, northwestern Switzerland, and the Palatinate), from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The collections showcase the prestigious history of Strasbourg, which from the 13th to the 16th century was one of the main artistic hubs of the Holy Roman Empire.

The museum is located in a series of Gothic and Renaissance-style gabled houses, dating back to the same period as the pieces on show. The Maison de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame is also home to the head office of the Fondation de l’Œuvre Notre Dame (the Notre Dame Workshop Foundation). This institution was created in the early 13th century and is responsible for the upkeep, conservation, and restoration of Strasbourg Cathedral. The Foundation has been listed on UNESCO’s register for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage since December 2020.

The chronological layout shows a great diversity, alternating between medieval statues from the cathedral, sculptures (by Nicolas de Leyde), paintings (by Konrad Witz, Hans Baldung Grien, and Sébastien Stoskopff), stained-glass windows, altarpieces, tapestries, architectural drawings, gold- and silversmithery, and furniture, from the Romanesque period until 1681.

The tempo of the exhibit is perfectly balanced between the different rooms, the courtyard, and the Gothic garden (containing a vast array of aromatic herbs and medicinal plants, in keeping with the medieval garden tradition). The structure and architecture of the houses that make up the museum (spiral staircases, vaults, and archways) create the ideal backdrop for the collections. The façade of the cathedral, which you can spot several times as you wander around the museum, constitutes an anchor point for the visit, materializing the many centuries of history this remarkable work of art has seen.

Musée de l’Œuvre Notre Dame
📍 3 place du Château, Strasbourg