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Origin and history

The Protestant church of Kuhlendorf, located in the village of Betschdorf (formerly in Lower Alsace), is a Lutheran building erected in 1820, engraved above its door. Unique in Alsace by its construction in wood (columbing), it reflects an economic solution for a small community: cut stone was too expensive, while wood, abundant thanks to the proximity of the Haguenau forest, offered an accessible alternative. Originally, the building housed both a place of worship (at the front) and a school with accommodation for the teacher (at the back), illustrating the versatility of spaces in the rural villages of the time. Its architecture, almost identical to local houses, is distinguished only by a bell tower and high windows. The clock, with a single needle (that of hours), and the absence of ornamentation underline its utilitarian and modest character.

The village of Kuhlendorf, mentioned in 792, never constituted an independent parish. Before 1820, its inhabitants depended on the nearby churches of Oberbetschdorf or Niederbetschdorf, which were themselves marked by the turbulent religious history of Alsace. In 1545, Count Philip IV of Hanau-Lichtenberg imposed Lutheranism on his lands, including Kuhlendorf. After the annexation of Alsace by Louis XIV in 1684, the churches became simultaneous (Catholic and Protestant cults living together), until the construction of a Catholic church in Oberbetschdorf in 1889. The school-church of Kuhlendorf, renovated in 1987, retains its original furniture (except the windows and organ of 1977). Its access has been changed: today we enter it through the old classroom, lateral.

Classified as a Historical Monument since 24 January 1978 (protected facades and roofs), this church is a testament to the adaptation of Alsatian rural communities to economic and religious constraints. Its half-timbered construction, typical of local architecture, makes it a rare example of vernacular Protestant heritage. The merger in 1972 of the villages of Niederbetschdorf, Oberbetschdorf, Schwabwiller, Reimerswiller and Kuhlendorf under the name Betschdorf preserved this place as a symbol of the shared history of these hamlets. Today owned by the municipality, the building remains a marker of the Alsatian Lutheran identity and its modest but ingenious architectural heritage.

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