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Origin and history

The Church of St Michael of Reichshoffen, located in the Lower Rhine in the Grand East region, is a Catholic building built in the 3rd quarter of the 18th century (1772-1782). Ranked a historic monument in 1921, it is distinguished by its 68.9-metre bell tower, one of the highest in Alsace, and its neo-classical architecture in Vosges sandstone. Its interior, decorated in a baroque style, presents a remarkable stylistic unit thanks to its rapid construction, completed in a decade. The building replaces an old parish church considered too remote and small for the expanding village.

The construction of the church was initiated by the village community and the Protestant lord Jean de Dietrich, who financed the choir, sacristy and bell tower after a six-year trial. The latter, initially reluctant to pay for a Catholic church, finally offered a bell tower higher than expected, sealing his reconciliation with the inhabitants. The plans were drawn in 1771 by Christiani father, inspector of the Bridges and Chaussées, and the works entrusted to the local masons Christian Gstyr and François Joseph Messmer. The first stone was laid on May 11, 1772, and the large work finished in 1774.

The interior decor, made between 1774 and 1782, includes stuccos signed by the plasterer Rosio and rock cartridges by Joseph Schaeffer. The church houses a preserved original furniture, including a 1777 organ buffet and a carillon enriched in 2011, becoming the "carillon of Europe". Among its peculiarities are a meridian restored in 2013, a historic clock by Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué, and a statue of Black Virgin erected after the cholera epidemic of 1855. His cemetery, originally adjacent, was located at the back of the choir.

The five original bells, dating from 1786 to 1812, escaped the German requisition during World War I because of their harmonic value. The heaviest, 2,750 kg, commemorates the birth of the King of Rome. The church, owned by the commune, remains a major architectural and historical testimony, mixing neo-classical and baroque influences, while illustrating the community tensions and compromises of its time.

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