173 Mulhouse St Stephen's (Temple Saint Etienne)

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 173 Mulhouse St Stephen's  (Temple Saint Etienne)


Now this is a protestant church - this is the East of France, where protestantism has been strong since the Reformation. It is dead symbolic that smack in the centre of the altar is the pulpit for preaching, rather than say, the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament etc. The church of the Word versus the church of the Sacrament, perhaps.


There was a Catholic church on this site until the 1520s, when they followed Basle and Zurich and so on, got rid of the statues and abolished the mass. Then they demolished and rebuilt the building in the mid 19th century. It is the tallest protestant church in France, partly because they wanted to be sure not to be outshone by local Catholic edifices. The architect, Schacre,  was previously well known for building new-fangled railway stations.


There is a monument to commemorate the Armenian genocide of 1915-16, and also seventeenth century Baroque choir stalls and fourteenth century stained glass.

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