Church of Zehnacker dans le Bas-Rhin

Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Zehnacker, located in the Lower Rhine, is built in the late twelfth century. It became an autonomous parish in the 14th century before declining in the 15th century, being more served than by a chaplain in 1419. The community adopted the Reformation in 1523 and joined the Protestant parish of Wasselonne, and then gained its autonomy before 1540. After the annexation of Alsace by France in the seventeenth century, the church became simultaneous, welcoming Catholics and Protestants, with a Catholic altar in the choir and an altar Protestant in the nave.

In the 19th century, the state of disrepair of the church prompted the parish priest and the pastor to request his reconstruction in 1818. Several projects fail due to community disagreements and financial difficulties. In 1843, Catholics refused to share the building and demanded two separate churches, but mediation in 1846 allowed a compromise: one church with two separate spaces. Reconstruction began in 1852, without celebration due to persistent tensions. The Protestant tympanum dates back to 1852, but Protestant consecration occurred only in 1853.

After the reconstruction, the tower was raised in 1855 and equipped with a clock in 1864. In 1867, Catholics financed the addition of a choir and sacristy, absent from the original project. The church of Zehnacker remains a unique case in Alsace: a building shared by two cults, but physically divided by a wall, ending the simultaneum while maintaining a symbolic coexistence.

The history of this church illustrates the post-Reform religious tensions in Alsace, as well as the architectural and political compromises made necessary by the forced coexistence of cults. Local archives, such as Gustave Koch (2005), document these dynamics between 1818 and 1867, highlighting the role of civil and religious authorities in managing community conflicts.

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