Kintzheim

According to the historians, Kintzheim has had a parish as well as a church already since the year 954.
The actual church was constructed between 1844 and 1846 and dedicated to Saint Martin, the bishop of Tours. It replaced an ancient church which measured only 13.70 by 10.70 m with a very small chorus. As the parish grew in size it did not provide enough room for the whole parish. The first plan of construction of a new church dates back to 1758 and another one to 1791. The proposal in drawings was inspired by the church in Châtenois, but the building was considered too expensive for the village. Following the French Revolution and a long trial with the city of Sélestat the construction was postponed. Finally in 1830 the decision was made to extend the church. The actual church was conceived by Mr Ringesen, an architect from Sélestat. The new church devoted to saint Martin was dedicated by Mgr Raess, bishop of Strasbourg on 2nd August 1846.
During the First World War on 5th September 1917 the German administration took away two bells and 78 pipes of the organ to be melted and transformed into military hardware. But the bells were found near Frankfurt and restored into its original place in 1922.

Note: The page was originally created on Mar 1, 2008 for Virtualtourist.com. It contributed 1 tips and 3 photos to the Kintzheim Travel guide, was Top Rated and ranked No.3 of the Top 5 Kintzheim Writers. The site was closed down on Feb 27, 2017.