The Protestant Temple

Located on the right bank of the Bruche, Rothau was once the capital of the Ban de la Roche lordship. In 1584, Count Palatine George John I of Veldenz acquired this territory, which included six communes, and imposed the Protestant Reformation there from 1589. The parishes of Rothau and Waldersbach then joined the Lutheran Church. From 1724, with Alsace attached to the Kingdom of France, the Catholic and Protestant communities of Rothau had to share the same church under the simultaneum principle, common in the region when both confessions coexisted.

In 1863, a Lutheran church was built based on plans by Colmar architect Louis Michel Boltz. He faced a topographical challenge: a shallow rocky plot on a hillside. To address this, he designed a centrally planned building with a large base giving the façade a monumental neo-Renaissance style. The church’s originality lies mainly in its semicircular interior, topped by a gallery that makes the most of the limited space. The terrain constraint also inspired a remarkable arrangement: the altar, pulpit, and the 1867 Stiehr-Mockers organ are vertically aligned, creating a unique vertical composition.