Protestant Church of the Récollets

Construction of the Franciscan church

Before being converted to Protestant worship at the end of the 19th century, the Protestant church was a Catholic church. Its construction dates back to the 13th century, when a community of monks settled in Sélestat.

As soon as they settled in Sélestat in 1280, the Franciscans began building their conventual church.

The choir of the church, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, was built from 1281 onwards.

Probably at the beginning of the 14th century, the friars replaced the former house of the Rathsamhausen with larger cloistered buildings arranged around a cloister to the south of the church. Towards the end of the same century, they built the nave of the church.

The main nave and side aisles had ceilings. The nave consisted of three naves separated by pointed arches supported by columns with uncarved capitals.

On the north side, an elegant five-sided vaulted chapel was built.

This small chapel, open towards the choir and later also towards the nave, was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. It is thought to have been built around 1330.

Around 1430, the Franciscans decided to build the graceful hexagonal bell tower with its openwork stone spire above the Notre-Dame chapel.

 

Assignment to the Récollets

In 1525, the convent closed following the departure of the Franciscans a few years earlier in 1522.

The church successively became a school, a midwives' residence and a depot for hunting accessories.

In 1619, the town returned it to the Récollets (Franciscan reformers), who took possession of the buildings and occupied them until the French Revolution.

The church underwent major restoration work in the 18th century.
 

Damage during the French Revolution

During the Revolution, the building was used as an army fodder depot, and the outbuildings were used as barracks, a salpêtrière and a prison. The convent closed in 1791 and was bought by the town in 1810.

The church emerged from the revolutionary turmoil more or less intact, but empty. The sacred vessels had been transported to Strasbourg. Some of the priestly vestments and church linen were stolen. As for the pews and altars, they were sold.

Little of the monastery library has survived, most of it having been stolen or torn up on the spot.

 

The church's dedication to Protestant worship

On 12 August 1878, the City Council granted the Récollets Church to the Protestant parish.

The former Franciscan (then Récollet) convent buildings were demolished in 1880 to make way for a robust school building : the present-day Ecole du Centre.

The nave of the church, considered too dilapidated, was also demolished. The choir, the only remaining part of the old church, was then enclosed by a neo-Gothic façade.

The Protestant church was inaugurated in 1881.