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Origin and history

The Protestant church of Baldenheim, located in the Lower Rhine, originated in the 11th century, although its first written mention dates from 1371. In the Romanesque period, the nave was enlarged and decorated with murals, then dedicated to Saint Oswald while serving as a necropolis for the Rathsamhausen family. In the 15th century, the nave was raised, the Romanesque windows replaced by Gothic bays, and the chorus rebuilt with a rich decor inspired by Martin Schongauer, including the emblems of the evangelists and an apostolic college.

In 1576, Baldenheim adopted the Protestant Reformation: the church was set up accordingly (nef repainted in white, added rostrum), and became simultaneous in 1758 after the return to Catholicism imposed by the king of France. The nave returned to the Protestants, the choir to the Catholics (under the patronage of Saint Blaise), creating tensions until the construction of a Catholic church in 1937. The frescoes of the nave, rediscovered in 1938 and covered in the 1950s, bear witness to these historical strata. Classified as a Historic Monument in 1970, the church also preserves tombs of the Rathsamhausen and medieval liturgical installations.

The bell tower, mostly Romanesque, houses a sacristy on the ground floor and an old chapel on the first floor, once accessible from the choir. The polygonal bedside, vaulted dogives with armored keys, and Gothic bays illustrate the construction campaigns of the 12th-17th centuries. The choir's paintings, dated ~1490, are directly inspired by Schongauer's engravings, while the nave reveals three layers of frescoes (XIVth–XVIth centuries), including a final Judgment above the triumphal arch.

Religious conflicts have marked the history of the building: the simultaneum (1758–1937) opposes Protestants and Catholics until they leave the place. The restorations of the 1990s confirmed the existence of a primitive flat bedside building, enlarged in the 14th century and transformed in the 15th to 16th centuries. Today, the Protestant church of Baldenheim remains a major architectural and pictorial testimony of Alsace, mixing medieval heritage, Reformation, and noble funeral heritage.

The frescoes of the nave, partially visible to the west, depict Christian and Marian scenes in red tones and ochres (14th century), while the more sober 16th century decor imitates a stone apparatus. The choir, decorated with the coat of arms of the Rathsamhausen-Ehnwihr, also houses family graves and a liturgical sink. Archaeological studies (1992–1993) revealed pious inscriptions and eucharistic arrangements, highlighting the central role of the church in community life, from medieval to modern times.

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