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Origin and history

The Reformed Temple of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, built in 1634, is a rare example of 17th-century Protestant architecture in France. Located in the Upper Rhine, it was erected in the middle of Thirty Years' War, thanks to donations from the faithful and loans. Its rapid construction (July to September 1634) aimed to circumvent religious prohibitions, hence the initial absence of a bell tower to avoid attracting attention. The rectangular building (22.7 x 17.3 m) was designed as a simple room, illuminated by 18 ogival windows and equipped with a central chair, symbol of the reformed preaching.

The Calvinist Reformation implanted in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines around 1550 under the impulse of Pastor Elijah and Lord Egenolphe of Ribeaupierre, despite the opposition of the Catholic authorities. The first cults took place in private houses or abandoned chapels, such as in Fertrupt or Echéry. The growth of the community, reinforced by the arrival of Protestant miners, made it necessary to build a temple. It was financed by merchants and faithful, and inaugurated on October 1, 1634, becoming a place of worship shared between French and German speakers.

The temple experienced tensions between the two linguistic communities, resolved in 1698 by an arbitration requiring a division of places. In 1807 an octagonal bell tower of 23 meters was added, equipped with melted bells at Ribeauvillé. Repairs were frequent (roof in 1699, 1747, 1782; windows in 1810), and stained glass windows were installed in 1907. The monument, classified in 1994, preserves 18th-century tombstones, including those of Jean Fattet, judge of mines, and Pastor Christof Merian.

The temple's sober architecture reflects Protestant principles: lack of ostentatious decoration, central pulpit, and benches arranged in horse iron. The wooden galleries, supported by columns of sandstone or plaster, welcomed the faithful and the organ. The organs, originally installed in 1788 by Joseph Rabiny, were replaced in 1847 by those of the factor Callinet. Despite the damage of the Second World War (damaged roof in 1940), the temple remains a symbol of the resistance of Alsatian Protestantism after the revocation of the edict of Nantes.

The temple houses remarkable tombstones, such as that of Maria Rosina Seyler (1703), wife of Pastor Johann Rudolf Brenner. These graves, integrated on the ground, bear witness to the importance of local Protestant families, such as the Schwengsfelds, influential in the region. The building, owned by a cult association, is still active and open to visit, perpetuating a religious and architectural heritage unique in Alsace.

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