Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Church of St. Vit of Griesbach, located in Gundershoffen in the north of Alsace, is a religious building remarkable for its status as a simultaneous church, welcoming both Catholic and Lutheran cults. Its first construction dates back to 1492, as evidenced by the Eucharistic cabinet, while the lower three levels of the tower date back to that time. The present building was rebuilt at the end of the seventeenth century, with an engraved date of 1761 on the entrance gates, marking a major reconstruction.

The village of Griesbach, originally annex of Mertzwiller, adopted the Reformation in 1564 before being attached to Gundershoffen. The simultaneum (forced sharing between Catholics and Protestants), introduced in 1685 under Louis XIV, is still in force. This status reflects the complex history of Alsace, marked by religious tensions after the Reformation and the Counter-Reform. The church, of neo-Roman style, is distinguished by its rectangular nave and its tower-cheur in pink sandstone, partially modified (voût replaced by a ceiling).

The church furniture and stained glass windows illustrate its dual religious heritage. The stained glass windows are the work of Ernest Paul Michel Gustave Werlé, like those of the Protestant church of Gundershoffen. Among the liturgical objects identified are a host box, a cross Christ, an organ, and elements under study (calices, cibories, statues). These pieces testify to the heritage richness of the site, preserved despite historical upheavals.

Local history is also marked by the French Revolution and the Civil Constitution of the clergy (1790), which divides the Alsatian clergy. In Gundershoffen, parish priest Sébastien Krummeich (from 1788 to 1798) was among the inserment priests, refusing to take an oath in the Constitution. Its opposition reflects the deep cleavage between clergy loyal to Rome and revolutionary authorities, characteristic of Alsace of the time.

Today, Saint-Vit Church remains a symbol of religious cohabitation in Alsace, a region where Lutheran Protestantism and Catholicism have shaped cultural identity. Its architecture, furniture and history make it a living heritage, studied and valued by local associations such as Les Amis de Saint Jacques d'Alsace and the Lutheran and Catholic parishes of Gundershoffen.

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