Collégiale Saint-Étienne et Vieux-Hombourg

Hombourg-Haut

In 1254, Jacques de Lorraine, Bishop of Metz, founded on his fortified hill of Hombourg a chapter of thirteen canons, charged with appointing the vicar of the parish. The Gothic collegiate church of Vosges sandstone, begun at the end of the 13th century and completed around 1400, unfolds a Latin cross with nave and aisles, transept, a choir remodelled in the 14th century and two side chapels; its pinkish-ochre mass dominates, from the eastern tip of the spur, the Vieux-Hombourg, the former upper town of the bishops of Metz, of which the remains of the château d'Hausen survive 560 metres away. A fire damaged the north aisle and the cloister in 1632, but the church came through the Thirty Years' War; the chapter, suppressed in 1743, gave way to the Recollects, and at the Revolution it was the villagers themselves who bought back their church to save it from damage. Listed as a monument historique in 1930, restored up until 2017, it houses stained glass by Jean-Henri Couturat (1955) and an organ by Pierre Rivinach (1847), enlarged by Dalstein-Haerpfer and restored in 1992, reputed to be one of the finest in eastern France; the Théodore Gouvy international festival resounds here every year.

Getting there : Rue de l'Église / place Saint-Clément, 57470 Hombourg-Haut, at the top of the old town; free visit (9 am–6 pm in low season according to the tourist office, tel. 03 87 90 53 53), regular concerts, ruins of the château d'Hausen 560 m away at the tip of the spur.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound