History

In 1339, Nicolas SWARBER, a wealthy land-owner from Strasbourg, had a chapel for St George built where the actual church now stands. The tympanum of this edifice has been preserved in the entry to the church.

The Protestant Reformation was introduced in the Robertsau in 1527, and the chapel was used for protestant worship. It was then enlarged in 1545. After 1681, several catholic families came to live in the Robertsau and on the 29^th of July 1686 the church became a place of worship for both catholics and protestants.

During the mid-nineteenth century, the church having become to small, a new church was built for each denomination. The catholic community finished building ‘l’église St. Louis” on Rue Jeanne d’Arc by 1859.

The last Protestant services in the old edifice were celebrated on Sunday 27^th of October 1861. The first stone of the actual church was laid on the 14^th of September 1862. On the 10^th of July 1864, the dedication ceremony took place after the blessing of the three church-bells on the 3^rd of July 1864. The church’s Stiehr-Mockers organ dates back to 1866 and was classified as a historical monument in 1974.

If the exterior has not changed up to today, on the other hand many changes and improvements have been made on the inside. In 1910, Mélanie de Pourtalès donated the two Champigneule stained-glass windows which depict the baptism and crucifixion of Christ. In 1911 the organ was transformed according to Dr Albert Schweitzer’s indications.

The First World War took with it two of the original bells which had been donated by the Pourtalès family. In 1923 they are replaced, thanks to the parishioners’ funds, by a FA bell weighing 1150 kg and a SOL bell weighing 760 kg. They carry the names of the old bells they replace : Elizabeth and Mélanie in remembrance of the two daughters of the Bussière family, who were confirmed in the church.  The third is a LA bell weighing 385 kg.

In 1940, the ceiling was lowered giving better acoustics. In the same year, the pews and the wooden coating on the lower part of the walls give the church its characteristic look. On the 7^th of January 1945, a bombshell launched from Kehl demolished part of the presbytery and the church.

In 1963, the Ville de Strasbourg renovated the slate recovering the steeple. The cockerel is also replaced. The storm of the 26^th of December 1999, damaged the roof. The organ also is damaged due to water infiltration, and had to be repared.

In 2005, important restructuration of the interior and works on improving the safety of the church are taken up by the Ville de Strasbourg and the parish together.