Origin and history
The collegiate Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune of Strasbourg, now Protestant, finds its origins in the seventh century with a wooden chapel dedicated to Saint Colomban, built by Irish monks. Located outside the city walls, it served as a doratory for artisans and travellers along the Roman way from Strasbourg to Trier. A hospice welcomed pilgrims, orphans and sick. Around the year one thousand, a second church was built, served by monks, before a Romanesque collegiate church replaced it in the 11th century under the impulse of Bishop William I. Consecrated in 1049 (or 1053) by Pope Leo IX, it takes the name "Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune" to distinguish itself from the other Saint-Pierre church in the city. The chapter, composed of canons living first in community according to the rule of St.Chrodegang, gradually transforms, abandoning the common life in the 12th century.
In the 14th century, the Romanesque church, which remains the bottom of the bell tower and columns of the cloister, gave way to a Gothic building. The chapels are added to the 14th and 15th centuries, while the extension of the urban walls (1200-1220) now includes the church in the city. The chapter, enriched by gifts, counts up to fifteen canons at the end of the Middle Ages, with various roles (prevost, dean, cantor, etc.). They ensure an intense cult life, celebrating daily the canonial hours and mass anniversaries for donors. The school of the chapter, originally reserved for future canons, opens up to parishioners, including poor children through scholarships. Some canons, trained in European universities, hold diplomatic or legal functions.
The Protestant Reformation marked a turning point in 1524 when Wolfgang Capiton, appointed pastor despite the opposition of the canons, preached Lutheranism there. The Catholic chapter, remaining the owner of the walls, retains the use of the choir for its ceremonies. In 1681, after Strasbourg joined France, Louis XIV restored the Catholic parish: a wall then separated the nave (protestant) from the choir (Catholic) until 1893. This forced cohabitation, called simultaneum, ends with the construction of a new Catholic church at the end of the 19th century. During this period, figures such as Paul Fagius or Charles de Foucauld (baptised in the church) mark his history. Medieval frescoes, covered with a bandageon at the Reformation, were rediscovered and restored at the end of the 19th century by architect Carl Schäfer, who inspired the Codex Manesse to reconstruct works such as La Navicella or Le Cortège des Nations.
The organ of Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune, symbol of religious cohabitation, has a turbulent history. The first instrument, attested in 1404, was replaced and transformed several times, notably by Silbermann factors in the 18th century. The current organ, installed in 1780 by Jean André Silbermann and modified until the 21st century, has 42 games. Ranked a historic monument in 1862, the church attracts more than 80,000 visitors annually. Its jube, a rare example preserved after the Council of Trent, and its restored frescoes make it an artistic gem. Since 2014, a new work campaign aims to preserve its superimposed, medieval and neo-Gothic historical layers.
The French Revolution temporarily closed the church, transformed into a hay deposit in 1793, before its reopening in 1796. In the 19th century, three currents crossed the Lutheran parish: liberalism, pietism (Revival) and religious renewal, incarnated by Pastor Frédéric Horning (1846-1882). His son, Wilhelm Horning, oversees the restoration of the church at the end of the century, while the parish, divided between pietist and Orthodox tendencies, re-centers after world wars. Today, led by Pastor Philippe Eber, it remains an active place of worship and a major cultural centre in the historic centre of Strasbourg.
Among the remarkable elements, the Navicella (14th century), a fresco depicting Christ walking on the waters, and the Cortège des Nations (Negothic Reconstitution), illustrate the iconographic richness of the building. The weighing of souls, another fresco from the north side, evokes the Last Judgment. Two-metre polychrome angel, once in the choir chapel, attracts tourists who place prayer intentions there. Organs, witnesses to tensions between Catholics and Protestants, reflect the musical and liturgical evolution of the church, from the Renaissance to the present day.
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