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Origin and history

The Saint-Sylvestre church is a Catholic church located in Valtin, Vosges department, in the Grand East region. Built at 760 meters above sea level, it dominates the local landscape and bears witness to the religious history of this mountainous commune.

In the 15th century, the inhabitants of Valtin had to travel impassable paths in winter to attend religious services in Fraize. To remedy this difficulty, the Counts of Ribeaupierre, co-teachers of the place, decided to have a chapel erected on a rocky spur. This first building, which became too small, was replaced at the beginning of the eighteenth century by the present church.

The present church was built in 1704, as indicated by the date engraved on the vault key of the gate. Its appearance has remained broadly unchanged since then, with the exception of the replacement of shingles by a tile roof in 1867. The Way of the Cross, composed of 14 local clay earth stations, was restored by the potter Georges Morel between the 1970s and 1980s.

The building of the church was made possible thanks to the financial contribution of the Counts of Ribeaupierre and the involvement of the inhabitants, who participated actively in the works. This monument thus illustrates the collaboration between lords and local community to meet a spiritual and practical need.

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