Our patronage | Société des Amis de la Cathédrale de Strasbourg

A huge task

Winning tickets were drawn from this wheel.

Our founders’ first aim was to raise funds for future conservation projects, the most urgent being action to strengthen the main tower’s foundations. One of their money-making schemes was a lottery, and the wheel from which tickets were drawn is still on show in our office. Work on renewing the foundations – a huge task, which involved pumping in vast quantities of concrete – began in 1915, and the Society’s efforts played a part in its successful completion.

When Alsace again became French in 1918, the state resumed control of restoration and maintenance work on the Cathedral. No longer directly involved in funding, the Society went on working to give the public a broader picture of Strasbourg’s medieval past by helping to buy artworks for public collections, for example, in 1914, the statue of the Virgin Mary from the rue des Veaux, now exhibited in the Oeuvre Notre-Dame Museum, in 1931, and for the same museum, the well-known bust of a man resting on his elbow by Nicolas de Leyde, and in 1937 the cartulary from the Great Chapter (13^th-16^th century) for the Humanist Library in Sélestat.

Since the 1990s, the Society has again been fulfilling its original function of helping to fund specific maintenance projects: the cleaning of the stained glass windows in Saint Catherine’s chapel and the historic Massol altar in the choir, both in 1995, the restauration of the tapestries depicting the life of the Virgin Mary in 1999 and a financial contribution to restoration work on the windows in the South aisle in 2010. Registered charity status (conferred in 2001), and its members’ gifts and legacies, have combined to make it one of the Cathedral’s chief funding sources.

RECENTLY FUNDED PROJECTS

: Alterations to the cathedral platform (photo : J. Dorkel)

: Latest acquisition : for the Museum Œuvre Notre-Dame, the sculpted head from the statue of St Jean in the south doorway of the transept (photography by M. Bertola, Strasbourg City Museums)

: 1 : 12500 scale model of the cathedral (in collaboration with the Ch. Fleurov Gallery, the Rotary Club and the Oeuvre Notre-Dame Foundation).

: Fitting-out of a display area for medieval architects’ drawings in the Museum Œuvre Notre-Dame. Design : Ballast architects ; Display: N. Moutinho.

: Restoration of the gilding on the organ in the nave (14th. century).

: Acquisition of stained glass windows from the Church of the Dominicans for the Museum Œuvre Notre-Dame. Photo : City of Strasbourg Museums, M. Bertola.

Gifts and legacies – two ways you can help

Recognised as a registered charity by the Regional Order of 10 September 2001, the Society is empowered to receive tax-deductible gifts or legacies from individuals and firms. All of these go into a special sponsorship account, and the Society’s running costs and cultural programme are wholly covered by membership fees.
Individuals are entitled to a 66% tax rebate on gifts to the Society, up to a maximum 20% of taxable income. Entitlement on payments above that maximum is carried forward yearly for the next five years.

Firms get a 60% income or corporation tax rebate on all donations up to a maximum 0.5% of their turnover. Entitlement on payments above that maximum is carried forward yearly, on the same conditions, for the following five financial years, due allowance being made for additional annual donations (Article 238, 2.1 of the General Taxation Code).
You can also help by remembering the Society in your will, having first provided for your legal heirs. Legacies of all kinds – money, life insurance policies, real estate, investment portfolios, artworks, etc. – are accepted. There is no minimum amount, but you are advised to consult a lawyer when making your will. The Society is exempt from inheritance tax on all legacies, including insurance policies.

For further information, please contact us.