Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of the Exaltation-de-la-Sainte-Croix, located in Eguelshardt, Moselle department, is a neo-Gothic religious building built between 1854 and 1858. It replaces a chapel in the cemetery, which has become too small and degraded to accommodate the faithful, forced to attend the offices outside. The initiative for its construction emanates from an order of Bishop Thomas, representative of the bishop of Metz, and falls within the context of the demographic and parish growth of the village, erected as an independent parish in 1802 after having been a branch of Schorbach.

The architect Messin Charles Gautiez (1809-1856) designed the plans of the church, while the entrepreneur Jean-Dominique Bourguignon, from Landroff, supervised the works. The building, in pink sandstone, adopts a basilical plan with transept and polygonal choir, typical of the neogothic. Its 28-metre bell tower houses three bells totalling 963 kg, and its interior includes elements such as a penance chapel, a Lourdes cave, and allegorical paintings. The stained glass windows, offered by local families in 1949, and the organ of Willy Meurer (1948) replacing the one destroyed during the Second World War, testify to the evolution and restoration of the monument.

The church is part of the religious history of Bitche, a region marked by a strong Catholic identity. Its furniture, including a neo-Gothic high altar, a statue of the Virgin of the Assumption, and a set of 16 glass windows, reflects local crafts and community donations. As part of the Topographic Inventory of Lorraine, it illustrates 19th-century ecclesiastical architecture and its central role in parish life, between traditions and modern adaptations.

External links