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Origin and history

The Protestant church of Seletat originated in a Franciscan convent founded in 1280. As early as 1281, the construction of the choir dedicated to the Immaculate Conception began, accompanied by a vaulted sacristy. At the beginning of the 14th century, the three-ship nave and the convent buildings were erected, while a northern lateral chapel dedicated to the Virgin appeared around 1330. The temporary door of the choir was then moved to the north wall of the lower side. In 1430, an openworked stone arrow crowns the bell tower, juxtaposed to the choir.

In 1522, a chapel housing three funeral monuments of the brothers of Rathsamhausen was added against the north side, but it was destroyed in the seventeenth century, its monuments being transferred to the town hall and then to the museum. The convent closed in 1525, before being occupied by the recollets of 1619 at the Revolution. In the 18th century, the church underwent a major restoration. After the permanent closure of the convent in 1791 and its use as a military store, the city acquired it in 1810.

In 1876, the Protestant community obtained the building as a temple. The nave, in poor condition, was destroyed in 1878 with the sacristy, while the architect Jean-Jacques Stamm restored the choir and rebuilt the west facade. The temple was inaugurated in 1881 with neo-Gothic furniture by Théophile Klem. In 1978, the openwork campanile was restored, and a western tympanum, carved by Martine Lutz in 1979, complemented recent developments. The church has been listed as historical monuments since 1983.

The building preserves traces of its medieval origins, such as the broken arched arcades of the destroyed nave, falling back on uncarved capital columns. Its history reflects the religious and political transformations of Alsace, from Franciscans to Recollets and then to the Protestant community. Today, it bears witness to this multi-series heritage in the heart of Sélestat.

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