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Origin and history

The ancient Reichshoffen leprosy is often confused with the Altkirch, a medieval church whose only Gothic tower remains called Heidenkirche. Although the texts mention a leprosy, its exact location was located south of the communal ban thanks to old maps and the toponym "Gutleuthaus" present in the Napoleonic cadastre. The Altkirch stands on a hill near the rue des Prés, integrating Gallo-Roman remains like a bas-relief dedicated to Mercury re-used in his masonry.

The present building dates mainly from the 13th and 14th centuries, when a Romanesque chapel was rebuilt in Gothic style by Sturzelbronn Abbey, probably to assert its rights to lands and tithes. Archaeological excavations in 2011 revealed a medieval fortified cemetery (11th century) surrounded by a thick wall and a ditch, used until the 17th century. The nave, destroyed before the 18th century, was partially materialized in recent restorations (2014) by the Reichshoffen History and Archaeology Society (SHARE).

The Altkirch site has a probable ancient origin: traces of Roman plots (centuries) and numerous steles dedicated to Mercury, preserved today at the archaeological museum of Strasbourg, suggest that a pagan temple once occupied this promontory. The first written mention of the Altkirch dates back to 994, when Emperor Otton III offered a "capella in Richeneshoven" at Seltz Abbey. The church, abandoned after the Thirty Years' War, was gradually replaced by the present Saint Michael's church in the fortified enclosure.

The visible remains include the ground floor of the tower-chœur (XIIIth–XIVth centuries), built of rubble, bricks and sandstone, as well as elements re-used as Gallo-Roman steles. Two bas-reliefs dedicated to Mercury, withdrawn in 1742 by historian Jean-Daniel Schoepflin, are exhibited at the Musée de Strasbourg. A third, discovered in 1826, is also preserved there. These findings reinforce the hypothesis of a Christianization of an ancient pagan place of worship, although no direct archaeological evidence confirms it.

The Altkirch illustrates the religious and social evolution of Reichshoffen: first Romanesque funeral chapel (Xth century), then Gothic parish church (XIIIth-15th centuries), it was finally abandoned to an intramural place of worship. Its restoration in 2014 allowed to partially reconstruct its two-storey choir, as attested by 19th-century drawings, and materialize the enclosure of the medieval cemetery.

Today a communal property and classified as a historical monument since 1990, the site bears witness to the superposition of the epochs: hypothetical Roman temple, medieval church, and leprosy whose exact location remains debated. Recent excavations and archives (such as 17th century plans) continue to shed light on its complex history, linked to the Sturzelbronn Abbey and the urban transformations of Reichshoffen.

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