The New Temple

The former church of the Dominican convent, a large Gothic building, was assigned to teaching activities by the City in 1531.

Le Temple neuf
The New Temple © Archives/Ville de Strasbourg

John Calvin founded the French parish there in 1538. After 1681 the church housed the Lutheran parish of the Cathedral and was then called the New Temple. In the second half of the 18th century and in the 19th century, parish life was marked by renowned pastors, namely Jean-Laurent Blessig and François Haerter.

In 1835 the famous city library of Strasbourg was set in the de-consecrated large choir of the New Temple. It already included the library of the University to which Jean-Daniel Schoepflin’s was added. In the night of August 24 to 25 1870, the Prussian artillery destroyed the Church. More than three hundred and fifty thousand works disappeared. Between 1874 and 1877, the architect Emile Salomon rebuilt the structure in the neo-Romanesque style.

 

 

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Associated notes

Jean Calvin (1509-1564)

A generation after Luther, the Frenchman Jean Calvin became the organiser of the Reformation : he organised the Church, shaped the doctrine and defined the role of the Church in state government.