Building · Preserving · Handing on : the 800 years of the Œuvre Notre-Dame Foundation

The Œuvre Notre-Dame Foundation is a unique institution in France and has been devoted for eight centuries to building and preserving the Cathedral of Strasbourg.

This exhibition invites us to explore the rich history and the specificity of this unique institution, from its creation to the present day. Founded at the beginning of the 13th century by the Bishop of Strasbourg and the Cathedral's Chapter of Canons to supervise construction and manage donations and bequests, the Œuvre Notre-Dame (in Latin Opus Sancte Marie), came under the control of the City from the 1280s onwards.

The exhibition focuses on the importance and diversity of missions of one of the oldest cathedral workshops in Europe, its expertise having been inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2020. It emphasizes the wealth of its heritage, preserved continuously since the Middle Ages: real estate and land, architectural drawings, plans and surveys from all periods, engravings, photographs, casts, sculptures, antique tools and more. These collections, today further enriched by the technical output of the different construction sites, make the Cathedral of Strasbourg one of the best-documented buildings in France.

Through this exhibition, Strasbourg focuses on eight centuries of exceptional commitment to preserving its heritage, while reminding us that these skills are still being handed down and keeping the Cathedral alive today.
The exhibition in 15 sections is being held in the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame, a museum of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance situated since 1931 in the historic house of the Foundation.