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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The mixed church of Oberbronn, located in the Lower Rhine, has its origins in 1404, the date of its initial construction. Its flamboyant Gothic choir, added in 1503, illustrates the architectural evolution of the early 16th century. The dates engraved on the triumphal arch (1502-1503) and the north gate (1600) attest to the successive work. The building, originally dedicated to St Stephen, became a simultaneous church in 1685, divided between Protestant and Catholic cults until 1939, when a separate Catholic church was built.

The architecture of the church combines a ceiling rectangular nave, a bell tower on four levels, and a vaulted chorus with carved keys (childlike vierge, Saint Stephen, Oberbronn weapons). The 18th-century oculus and the partial reconstruction of the bell tower before 1933 mark later changes. The sacristy, vaulted and accessible by an external staircase, could have housed a high chapel. Ranked a historic monument in 1923, the church, now Lutheran, preserves traces of its parish and funeral past, as evidenced by the date of 1876 on the south wall, linked to the displacement of the cemetery.

The simultaneous, established in 1685 after the Protestant Reformation adopted by the parish in the 16th century, reflects the religious tensions of Alsace. This status ended in 1939 with the building of a dedicated Catholic place of worship, leaving the Oberbronn church to the Lutheran community. Recent restorations preserve this heritage, unique in the canton by its Gothic style and its complex religious history.

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