Saint-Étienne Church

The parish church of Saint-Étienne in Seltz stands on a promontory offering a breathtaking view of the lower Rhine valley. Its strategic location dates back to Antiquity, as evidenced by a Roman deity, Vulcan, embedded in the outer wall of the north chapel. In the 10th century, Empress Adelaide founded an abbey here, replaced by a first church destroyed by flooding. In 1357, Seltz gained the status of Imperial City within the Holy Roman Empire. The current building, marked by successive reconstructions, suffered a fire in 1674 before being restored in 1683. Around 1709, a baroque pulpit and main altar were installed, along with an onion dome bell tower. In 1898, this bell tower was replaced by a 62-meter neo-Gothic tower, which collapsed in 1940 under German bombardments, severely damaging the church. A temporary place of worship was erected near the bridge over the Seltzbach, also hit by shells. Reconstruction work began in 1953 and led to the church's final consecration on June 21, 1964. In 1968, a new organ, crafted by Schwenkedel, replaced the one destroyed in 1940. Since 2006, the entire building has been listed in the historic monuments register by the DRAC.