Tour du Temple de Garnison, a 97-metre Neo-Gothic spire in Metz
In the Square du Luxembourg, this 97-metre spire is all that remains of the Lutheran church built for the German garrison between 1875 and 1881. It is among the tallest monuments in Metz.
A church for the garrison
Intended mainly for German Lutheran soldiers, the building echoes the stone and Gothic style of the cathedral. The press of the day was outraged that its spire rose one metre above the cathedral's Mutte tower. In 1902, Albert Schweitzer, future Nobel Peace Prize winner, gave an organ concert here.
Why only the tower remains
Decommissioned in 1918, the church was hit by Allied bombing in the Second World War, then by a fire in 1946. The city council voted to demolish it, but only the nave and choir came down in 1952, as the work cost more than expected.
A Lutheran spire facing the Mutte
After the annexation of 1871, Metz took in large numbers of German soldiers, many of them Protestant, who needed a place of worship. The church inaugurated on 4 July 1881 was built on a generous scale: 2,400 seats, three aisles and a cost of 1,280,000 marks, with Wilhelm Rettig running the work and the design credited to Buschmann. Yet its bell tower was also speaking to the whole city. Raised in Jaumont stone, the very material of the cathedral, it set out to measure itself against the Mutte. That dialogue between the cathedral tower and the garrison spire can still be read in the Metz skyline.
From Schweitzer's organ to the Square du Luxembourg
Albert Schweitzer was only 27 when he played here in 1902. Born in Kaysersberg, in what was then German Alsace, this Strasbourg theologian and pupil of Widor had a passion for Bach. The calendar offers a curious echo: his Nobel Peace Prize is the one for 1952, the year the nave vanished. After the 1946 fire, there had been talk of turning the building into a social centre or a municipal library. Today the Square du Luxembourg holds only the tower, narrow and very slender, on the corner of Rue Belle-Isle and Rue de la Piscine. Look up at the spire: that is all that can still be seen of the church.
Practical information
Address: Square du Luxembourg, rue Belle-Isle, 57000 Metz
Frequently asked questions
Where is it?
In the Square du Luxembourg, Rue Belle-Isle, Metz.
Can you visit the Temple de Garnison tower?
Plan on seeing it from outside: no official source announces regular visits. From the Square du Luxembourg you see the neo-Gothic bell tower and its spire, with no nave or choir. The tourist office can tell you about any occasional opening.
Where should you stay to explore this part of Metz?
The centre, around the cathedral, is the simplest choice for walking to the tower and the other monuments. To compare neighbourhoods and look for accommodation, see Staylaro's guide « Se loger à Metz ».
How do you get there?
The easiest way is to walk from the centre towards Rue Belle-Isle, using the tall spire as your landmark. For a bus journey, check routes on Le Met', the Metz network, according to where you are starting from.
