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Origin and history

Temple Nine, or New Protestant Temple, was built between 1901 and 1905 in Metz, during the period of German annexation (1870-1918). This project is part of William II's Germanization policy, aimed at modernizing the city with iconic buildings such as the station or the central post office. Its Roman Romanesque neo-Roman style, inspired by the cathedrals of Spire and Mainz, had a controversy of classical French architecture.

The land, a former "garden of Love" on the island of Petit Saulcy, was ceded in 1898 to the reformed community. The architect Conrad Wahn, head of the city, designed a 53-metre-long Greek cross building with a 55-metre central tower. The first stone was laid in 1901 by the Statthalter Hermann zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and the inauguration took place in 1904 in the presence of Emperor William II.

The temple, classified as a Historic Monument in 1930, houses a Dalstein-Haerpfer organ of 1903, modified in 1970. Its stained glass from the 1990s comes from the Saint Nicholas Hospice. Despite initial criticism, it became a symbol of Metz, mixing Protestant heritage and Franco-German history.

Today, there remains an active place of worship for the reformed community and an architectural landmark of the Place de la Comédie, contrasting with the Jaumont stone of neighbouring buildings. Its eclectic style, blending Otto's and Rhine's influences, makes it a unique testimony to the Wilhelmini urban planning in Lorraine.

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