Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Reformed Temple of Lafrimbolle is a 19th-century Protestant religious building located in the Deux-Sarres, in the heart of the Donon forests. It is linked to the history of Huguenots who fled persecutions in the 17th century, especially those in Salm County, where the Reformation was introduced in 1541-42 by Philippe-François de Salm-Dhaun. After the forced abjuration of 1623, Protestant families took refuge in the forests of Turquestein, forming a discreet community.

In the 19th century, a Protestant school was founded in 1846 in the Harcholins, a place called Lafrimbolle, thanks to industrialist Daniel Legrand. Transformed into a temple-school in 1852, it received worship and teaching until 1885, despite the border upheavals of 1871 (German annexation). The building, enlarged in 1875 and 1927, retains traces of its dual use, such as the old entrance walled behind the altar.

The community, which emerged from the exodus of the Calvinists from Badonviller, organized around families such as the Banzet, Rochel and Naville. The temple, marked by a cross of Jerusalem and a salmon (symbol of the Counts of Salm), also houses a Protestant cemetery created in 1866. Today, it depends on the parish of Abreschviller-Lafrimbolle, within the Union of Protestant Churches of Alsace and Lorraine.

The furniture includes a chair decorated with salmon, recalling the heritage of the Counts of Salm, and a 1929 bell dedicated to Daniel Legrand. The temple, located near the Franco-German border of 1871, symbolized the resistance of a dispersed but united community, despite political divisions. Its modest architecture and history reflect the adaptation of the Lorraine Protestants to changing contexts.

Pastors, such as André Kuntzel (1920-1931) or Raymond Ducasse (Just among the Nations), marked his history. Saussenrupt Castle, owned by Geneva Protestant families (Naville, Eynard), also played a role in the religious renewal of the area in the 19th century, supporting local church assemblies.

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