Saint-Etienne Church

Facing the increase in the predominantly Catholic working-class population, Mulhouse saw the need to build a second church. Sainte-Marie Church, too small to hold nearly 19,000 worshippers by the mid-19th century, gave way to a new building. The first stone was laid in 1855 in a neighborhood undergoing urban transformation, where orchards and vegetable gardens still dominated the landscape. Architect J-B Schacre, whose design was approved by E. Viollet-Le-Duc, drew inspiration from the great French cathedrals of the 12th century. Only the statues of the apostles, attached to the nave pillars, reflect a Germanic tradition. Inaugurated in 1860, the church’s interior decorations were only completed at the end of the 19th century. It embodies a cohesive neo-Gothic style, very popular at a time marked by the first restorations of medieval buildings. Opposite the bell tower-porch adorned with a sculpted tympanum depicting the Last Judgment, the choir stands out with its radiating chapels and ambulatory, both illuminated by pointed-arch windows.