Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines
Reformed church
Reformed church © José Antenat
Description
In the 16th century, the Lutherans and the Reformed Protestants didn't always live together easily. In 1561, the Lutherans used the 'Sur-le-Pré' church, whereas the Reformed Protestants had the Saint-Pierre-sur-l’Hâte church. However, the latter one was far away from the town centre, so the Reformed Protestants were permitted to build a 'meeting hall' in 1634, without a steeple in order not to arouse suspicion from the Habsbourgs, the Ribeaupierre's liege lords. The church is one of the rare examples of Reformed architecture that remained after the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685, when many Protestant churches were destroyed throughout France. The architecture inside the church was designed following Calvin’s precepts which focussed on the reading of and listening to the Bible. The steeple and the organ were added in the 19th century.
