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Origin and history

The Saint-Maximin Church of Thionville, located in the Moselle department, is a Catholic religious building dating back to the 12th century. Until 1900 Thionville had only one parish, which had been dependent since 930 on the abbey of Saint-Maximin de Trier (Germany). The early church, originally dedicated to Saint Paul and Saint Eustache, was rebuilt after the fire of 1493 that ravaged Brûlée Street. Subsequent excavations revealed a seven-sided Gothic choir, typical of medieval architecture in Lorraine.

In the 18th century, faced with the lack of capacity of the building (which could accommodate only one sixth of the parishioners), the city considered its reconstruction. After complex negotiations with Abbé de Trier, who initially refused to finance the works, the project of the architect Messin Le Brun was adopted in 1756. Entrepreneurs Cuny Meaux and Nicolas Geisler carried out the work between 1755 and 1759, delivering a three-vessel hall church, characteristic of the great Lorrain churches of the time, but marked by austerity adapted to its status as a church of stronghold (tours surmounted by terraces, underground).

Consecrated in 1760, the church suffered extensive damage during the Prussian siege of 1870. The bombings required a restoration by architect Laydecker and entrepreneur Pommay, followed by a reconsecration in 1883. A cruciform sacristy was added to the bedside axis, designed by architect Alexis Varin and executed by Mathias Zimmer in 1874. The building, classified as a historic monument in 1984, houses a remarkable organ, restored in 1969 by Alfred Kern, as well as a ringing of six bells melted in 1921 by the Farnier foundry, whose Maximinus bumblebee (5,740 kg) is the most imposing in the region.

The liturgical furniture includes an altar consecrated in 2024, containing the relics of Saint Maximin, Saint Claire, Saint Eustache, Saint Augustine and Saint Bernard de Corleone. The organ, a synthesis of French and German traditions, has 4,500 pipes and three keyboards. Its history reflects technical and aesthetic developments, from its origin in the 16th century to its modern restoration, supervised by experts such as Michel Chapuis and Marc Schaefer.

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