St Stephen's Church

St Stephen's is a Catholic church on the Grande Île, on Place Saint-Étienne, within the grounds of the episcopal school of the same name. Heir to an abbey founded in 718, it keeps a Romanesque transept with a triple apse despite the destruction of 1944. A stop for lovers of old stones, a few minutes from the cathedral.

Duke Adalbert's abbey

The site is said to have held a Roman sanctuary dedicated to Mercury. In 718 Duke Adalbert of Alsace founded a Benedictine abbey here, whose first abbess was Saint Attala. The church was rebuilt in 1220 in a style bridging Romanesque and Gothic. It is one of the few churches in Strasbourg reaching so far back into the early Middle Ages, and it has been a classified historic monument since 1862.

Boarding school, theatre, then church again

In the 17th century the Visitation nuns opened a boarding school on the site. After the Revolution, the church lost its tower in 1802 and then served as the municipal theatre from 1805. It later returned to religious use and today stands at the heart of the Collège épiscopal Saint-Étienne, a Catholic school. These successive uses explain its unusual look, with no prominent tower.

The Romanesque transept that survived 1944

Allied bombing on 25 September 1944 destroyed much of the building. The nave was rebuilt in 1961 with slender pillars and an exposed timber roof. Of the original church only the vaulted transept and its triple apse survive, the most precious part to look at. The contrast between these Romanesque volumes and the modern nave is what makes the visit worthwhile.

The hand of Saint Attala

The church holds a reliquary containing the hand of Saint Attala, first abbess of the monastery, linking the place to its 8th-century founding. In the nave, a 1963 Schwenkedel organ, formerly used at the Strasbourg conservatoire, was installed in 2016. As the church lies within school grounds, access may be limited, so check before you go. The cathedral and the Ill quays are a few minutes away.

Frequently asked questions

Where is St Stephen's Church?

On Place Saint-Étienne on the Grande Île, within the grounds of the Collège épiscopal Saint-Étienne, a few minutes' walk from the cathedral.

What makes it remarkable?

Its origins go back to an abbey founded in 718, and it keeps a Romanesque transept with a triple apse; it has been a classified historic monument since 1862.

Can you visit it freely?

It stands within school grounds, so access may be restricted. Check with the parish before you go.