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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Maurice de Chemote, located in Moselle, has its origins since the 7th or 8th century, as evidenced by its chancel in style close to the church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnais de Metz. In 783, Hildegarde, wife of Charlemagne, offered the domain of Cheminot to the Abbey of Saint-Arnould de Metz, a donation confirmed the same year by Charlemagne. A papal bubble of Innocent II in 1139 explicitly mentions the church for the first time.

Between 1208 and 1229, Father Richer of Saint-Arnuld rebuilt the building by reusing the stones of the old church, while temporarily transferring the relics of Saint Redemptius to Metz. These relics, lost by a sacristan, never came back. The present church preserves its choir and transept of the thirteenth century, while its nave, destroyed several times (notably in 1443 by the scavengers and in 1944 by bombardments), was rebuilt in 1856.

Ranked as a historic monument in 1888, the church suffered repeated damage over the centuries: ransacks in 1308 by Renaud de Bar, fires in 1404 during the Metz-Nassau war, looting in 1444 by the French besieged Metz, and destruction during the two world wars. Its last restoration, in 1950-1951, restored its pre-war aspect, thus preserving a heritage marked by the turbulent history of Lorraine.

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