The Church of Old Saint Peters () is a by simultaneum

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church building in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

is first mentioned in 1130. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

it was one of Diocese of Strasbourg's nine parish churches. On 22 May 1398 the chapter of the Abbey of Honau, which had been in Rhinau since 1290, moved to Old St Peter's because of flooding in Rhinau. The chapter stayed there until 1529, conducting its services in the choir, while the parish occupied the nave. When the Catholic rite was restored in 1683, the chapter returned to the church and stayed there until 1790, when it was wound up. On 20 February 1529, when Strasbourg openly joined the Reformation and suspended the practice of the Mass, the church became Lutheran.

Martin Bucer Martin Bucer (; Early German: ; 11 November 1491– 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Anglican doctrines and practices as well as Reformed Theology. Bucer was originally a memb ...

and the other Strasbourg reformers had campaigned for several years to have Protestant services in all of Strasbourg's churches, but in 1525 the city council had voted to retain the mass in several churches, including Old St Peter's. In 1535, in the context of the Reform, a

Latin school The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Other terms used include Lateinschule in Germany, or later Gymnasium. Latin schools were also established in Colon ...

, or 'Middle school' was opened at Old Saint Peters. In 1683, two years after the annexation of Strasbourg by France,

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

ordered that part of the church be returned to the Catholics and that a wall be constructed inside the church by the

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

, to restrict the Protestant services to the nave. It was not until 2012 that a door was opened in this dividing wall. In the 19th century, the Catholic part of the church was extended. The extension was designed by the architect Conrath and opened in 1867. The 1762

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

of the Catholic part was moved to the Church of Saint Maurice in Soultz-les-Bains in 1865. The Catholic Church contains relics of Brigit of Kildare as well as a number of important works of art classified as '' Monuments historiques'' such as the " Passion of Christ", a series of ten Gothic paintings by Heinrich (or Henri) Lutzelmann (1485), the "Scenes from the Life of St Peter" an (incomplete) series of four wooden early

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

or late Gothic

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

s made around 1500 and a series of four 1504 paintings depicting "Scenes of the Life of Christ after the Resurrection". The Lutheran part of the church, presently owned and used by a congregation within the Protestant Church of Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine, also features some notable works of art, among which the wooden Renaissance relief "Holy Family" (1520s) by Hans Wydyz, classified as a ''Monument historique''.

Galleries

File:Portail de l'église Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux catholique de Strasbourg.jpg, Portal File:Pipe organ of Saint-Pierre-le-vieux catholique de Strasbourg.jpg, Pipe organ File:StPierreVieuxC23.JPG, Vaults File:StPierreVieuxC11.JPG, " The Passion of Christ" (detail of a panel) File:StPierreVieuxC26.JPG, "Scenes from the Life of St Peter" (detail of a panel) File:StPierreVieuxP03.JPG, Pipe organ File:StPierreVieuxP10.JPG, Altar File:StPierreVieuxP06.JPG, Chancel and relief "Holy Family" File:Eglise St-Pierre-le-Vieux protestante-Intérieur (6).jpg, The gallery File:StPierreVieuxP01.JPG, Fresco

External links

References

{{Church buildings in central Strasbourg Roman Catholic churches in Strasbourg Pierre Vieux Monuments historiques of Strasbourg