St. Nicolas

Our Parish of St. Nicolas
A translation of the story of St. Nicolas Parish from À La Lisière de la Forêt: Schirrhein/Schirrhoffen compiled by Rose-Marie Vetter. Strasbourg: Editions Coprur (1995). Contibuted by Vince Falter.

The Origins to the XVIIIth Century

"Until the beginning of XVIlth century, the parish of Saint Nicolas de Schirrhein-Schirrhoffen was a dirty [grubby, of minor importance] extension of the parish of Saint-Georges de Haguenau. It was managed by the Franciscans. Dr. Pfleger wrote in his work " Die elsâssische Pfarrei: ihre Entstehung und Entwicklung [The Alsatian Parishes: Their Emergence and Development]" the priests from Hagenau in Schirr Rhin [sic] were provided 'cold living and hard living, removed far [from Hagenau]." Throughout the XVIII century the Franciscans extracted a yearly donation, fixed by a contract. The monastery signed this contract with Schirrhein and Schirrhoffen. Each year, Schirrhein provided 100 guilders to the convent of Franciscans. This sum was payable quarterly. It also annually donated 40 guilders to the landlord of the village where the Franciscans in service to the community were fed and boarded. These two villages [Schirrhein and Schirrhoffen] also delivered 13 cartloads of wood per annum to the monastery.

As of 1693, Schirrhein had a small church or chapel which made it possible to celebrate the mass. This small church was located between Church street and the street of the Gentlemen. The material and financial administration of the parish was entrusted to a Heiligenmeyer. The Heileigenmeyer [this interpretation is not exact, but it roughly means Holy Mayor, something like a Church Deacon] took care of the purchases, kept the books on the expenditures of the church, and drew up the parish accounts each year. The first known Heiligenmeyer was Abraham Halter, husband of Agathe Halter. In 1682, he bought a house in the village for 400 Guilder.

The First Priests

It was in 1712, thanks to an intervention of the lord Niedheimer de Wasenbourg, owners of the fields around Schirrhoffen, that Schirrhein was set up as a parish, and Schirrhoffen became an appendage. The first [resident] priest of Schirrhein was François Joseph Rothjacob. He was born on June 15 1685 in Haguenau. His father was Basile Rothjacob). His mother was Anne Marie Charissin. He received his priestly orders on December 17, 1709. He was initially a Vicar at Haguenau, and was named pastor of Schirrhein on October 23, 1712. He occupied this station until January 21, 1725. He then was named pastor of the parish of Saint-Georges de Haguenau. He died of apoplexia tactus on October 28, 1732 in Haguenau. In 1718, the lord Niedheimer de Schirrhoffen presented a chalice to the new parish placed and placed it under the protection of Saint Nicolas - Nicolas was a rather widespread first name in this community. This chalice witnessed the first days of the existence of our parish and is currently carefully and securely preserved in the parish presbytery.

The second priest of the parish was Joseph Grau. He was born in Boersch on September 20 1687. His father, was Francois, and his mother was named Madeleine Bodmer. He was named to lead the parish of Schirrhein and Schirrhoffen on October 17, 1725. As he took his station, there arose litigation against his predecessor. Father Rothjacob had continued to receive the benefits and the income of his pastorate, even after his departure, whereas the [replacement] priest Joseph Grau received no income during the first five months of his presence in Schirrhein. He took this unseemly business to a Diocese judge. The Diocese judge directed Father Rothjacob to return to his successor the proportion of the income that he received during the time that Father Grau was there [in Schirrhein], and to begin counting from Saint-Jean-Baptiste day, June 24, 1725 [before Father Grau had been selected to go to Schirrhein]. He was also ordered to pay 46 guilders for the court expenses.

Father Joseph Grau, remained very a long time in Schirrhein. It is he who made the arrangements to build the new church. In 1768, he was reassigned to Mutzig, because of his great age and his illnesses. The magistrate of Haguenau granted to him a pension of 350 pounds, payable every six months. He left this world on December 11, 1778.

Joseph Richard Zipp succeeded him in 1769 and remained in the parish until 1805. He was born on September 2, 1738 in Haguenau. His father, Georg, was a tanner and his mother was Anna-Marie Mosser. He began his studies of theology in 1756 and was ordained a priest in 1762. He and his nephew were stopped on March 28, 1791 and detained for seditious writings. Released, he emigrated [fled] to the Country of Baden [Germany]. He returned to Schirrhein in 1802 and continued to lead its ministry until his death on March 16, 1805.

Financial Administration

The Heiligenmeyer or Heiligenpfleger was responsible for the financial administration of the parish. He performed this function during a period of one year. The mandate was renewable. Abraham Halter, for example, was Heiligenmeyer for eight years and his successor Michel Halter was for seven years.

The Heiligenmeyer recorded the receipts, the expenditure and established the accounts of the parish. The clerk of the town of Haguenau, in the presence of the priest, of the Heimburger, and of the old and the new Heiligenmeyer audited these accounts each year in March.

Let us examine, for example, the accounts of the year 1727 written by Heiligenmeyer Franz Halter. The receipts of this year, for a total of 280,40 Guilder, were distributed as follows:
- Surplus of the preceding period: 141,50 Guilder.
- Interests on capital: 29,80 Guilder.
- Dîme on rye: 85,00 Guilder.
- Christliche Lehr: 10,60 Guilder.
- Trunks: 10,50 Guilder.
- Wax: 3,00 Guilder.

The budget of the parish was thus balanced. There remained at the end of the year a surplus of 178 Guilder that was carried over to the beginning of the following year. All the accounts of the years 1701 to 1758 can still be consulted in the archived files of Haguenau. Accounts of the years 1759 to 1790 are missing.

As of this time, the parish also occupied a social role and one of financial mutual aid in regard to its members. The Heiligenmeyer could propose an obligation, or quite simply a loan of money at 5 % interest subscribed in the form of a recognition (Handschrift [an IOU]), to assist needy parishioners. This avoided the necessity to borrow money at high rates from usurers. This practice increased during the XIXth, century but was abruptly prohibited by a decree of the Episcopal ordinariat, of March 1906.

Construction of the New Church in 1749

During first half of the XVIIIth century, the population of the two villages had greatly increased. In 1693, Schirrhein was a very small village of only 30 families. In 1773, the village counted 660 inhabitants. It was thus necessary to build a new church.

Built in 1749, the parish church was expanded in 1866. Its [current] bell-tower goes back to 1776. This church was partly destroyed by the bombardments during the combat of the Liberation. At the side of it we can still see the presbytery built in 1772.

On 18 August 1721, Fez, the Vicar General and an official of the Diocese of Strasbourg, in a
visit to Schirrhein, noted that the old church was in very bad condition and too small to contain
all the parishioners. He ordered it to be rebuilt or at least increased [in size]. But the two
communes, without resources, were unable to support such a significant project. On July 9,
1736, Father Grau addressed a letter to the magistrate of Haguenau, begging him to undertake the
construction of the new church. He invited the magistrate to come to the village to negotiate
an arrangement. On February 18, 1771, Stettmeister Rothjacob ordered the committee of the
church to make a new plan and an estimate, and to present it to him in order to finally put the
work in action. The new presbytery was built and 1772. Today this building is still used and is
undoubtedly the oldest building of the village.

At The Time of the French Revolution

On July 12, 1790, the National Assembly voted upon the civil constitution of the clergy, which marked a turning point in the Revolution. Based on this [constitution], the members of the clergy were regarded as functionaries of the State and were thus to be paid by the State. They had to swear an oath to the new constitution and to commit themselves to respecting it scrupulously. Those who refused to swear the oath lost both their office and the right to conduct worship services. They were treated like rebels and disturbers of law and order.

The civil constitution of the clergy also removed the old episcopal sees and set up one in each Department. Alsace was divided into two; Strasbourg and Colmar. It prescribed, finally, that all the bishops and priests were to be elected by the whole of the citizens, i.e. also by Protestant, Jewish and atheistic citizens. That created a major scandal throughout the country.

Later, Prince Talleyrand stated: "do not fear to recognize that the civil constitution of the clergy, issued by the Constituent Assembly, is the greatest political fault of this assembly, independently of the dreadful crimes which were the consequence."

The reaction against the civil constitution for the clergy was extremely critical in Alsace. As of June 13, 1790, the bishop of Strasbourg, i.e. the Cardinal of Rohan, left his residence in Saverne, where he no longer felt safe. He settled in Ettenheim, which was in Baden, Germany.

Father Zipp was not impressed by the constitution, however. The following Sunday, he publicly denounced it from the pulpit.

AIsace then underwent a major religious crisis. The majority of the priests refused to take the oath [to the state]. And the population supported them. The priests who did swear were badly treated in the parishes. The government increasingly abandoned its revolutionary ideas, but it continued to condemn the recalcitrant priests. At that moment, many priests left the country. Those that remained were forced to hide and work clandestinely. Thus opened a dark period in the history of our country [France].

The contrary declarations and the orders published by the bishop were distributed clandestinely throughout the diocese and put the revolutionists in a rage. They saw these as seditious writings, of which the only goal was to cause a counter-revolution in the province.

The situation became increasingly difficult for him [Father Zipp]. Opinions started to heat up in the
village. The local quarrels became more frequent. The " warlike " conflict of the municipality of
Schirrhein with Schirrhoffen in March 1792 was a typical example of these quarrels. The incident started when a woman reported that some people of Schirrhoffen threatened the priest and that there was over there [in Schirrhoffen] a great conflict between the patriots [peasants] and the aristocrats [landholders]. Immediately, the mayor of Schirrhein, Mr. Halter, sounded the alarm bell and got under way towards Schirrhoffen. The Schirrhein municipal officer and schoolmaster Chrétien Richter accompanied him. Mr. Bertrand confirmed in his report of April 6, the violence of the attackers who had seriously wounded several citizens of the guard of Schirrhoffen, and who appeared to have had their hatred and that of their neighbors excited by the patriotism and opposition to the priests [by the people of Schirrhoffen]. The Director suspended the mayor and the schoolmaster of Schirrhein and directed the remaining primary municipal officers to take over the functions of the mayor at the time of the meeting, held May 18. He denounced the three culprits to the court and required that the court's deliberation be read by one of the [Schirrhein or Schirrhoffen?] municipal officers before the gathered community, and then be transcribed in the registers of the commune. The expenses of the investigation were charged to the culprits, that is to say, 41,10 [sic] pounds. Moreover, the Director wrote a letter to the Ministry of the Interior to denounce to him the illegal and guilty control by these civil servants.

Feeling that their presence in Schirrhein would cause still other disturbances, Father Zipp and his Vicar left the territory on August 14, 1792. They went to Buhl in the Country of Baden [Germany] where, awaiting him was the former Master of Schirrhof, the Baron de Vorstatt, as well as other emigrants of the [Schirrhein and Schirrhoffen] area. The parish did not remain for a long time without a priest after the departure of Father Zipp. On October 2, 1792, the new bishop named as priest of the parish, Father Alexandre Ruch.

Alexandre Ruch - his Christian name was Jean-Baptiste Ruch - was born in Sélestat on January 4, 1768. His father was François, a tanner. His mother was Elisabeth Schaeffer. Jean-Baptiste Ruch entered to the seminary of the Capuchins of Haguenau and took the name of Alexandre. He was ordained a priest in 1791. This seminary counted 20 monks and 5 [religious] brothers at the beginning of the Revolution. All of these monks had been pensioned by the Director which fixed their pension at 700 pounds. But one did not leave them time to enjoy this pension. All of them refused to swear the oath, except Alexandre.

On May 15, 1791, the bishop appointed Alexandre Vicar of Saint-Georges de Haguenau. Then, after the departure of Father Zipp, he was named head of the parish at Schirrhein and Schirrhoffen. He probably did not reside at the presbytery, since this building had been declared property of the nation and had been allocated to Citizen Lux of Schirrhein who then resided in it. The father, Alexandre Ruch did not remain a long time in Schirrhein.

The commune proposed to sell Father Zipp's goods at auction. The Zipp family of Haguenau then addressed a petition to the Director of Bas-Rhin, through a general intermediary who was the guard of the national forest, Joseph Hartrich, our to oppose this sale and to claim the goods of their son. According to the family, Father Zipp had departed the territory to go to Switzerland, in conformity with the law of August 26. He could thus by no means be regarded as an emigrant. The Director examined the certificate issued by the commune, checked the passport and stated that it was not necessary for him to declare that he was removing from Schirrhein like an emigrant. He also declared that the inventory drawn up by the municipality was null and void. The Zipp family was authorized to have the goods of her son [Father Zipp].

Father Zipp, actually, did not go to Switzerland, but to Buhl, in the territory of the Margraviat of Baden [German], where he joined others old associates and friends. One year later, he was listed on the roster of emigrants. His goods and rent were put under sequestration and sold at auction.

A short time afterwards, whereas this lease was always in force, the municipality wanted to sell the presbytery, its garden and its other properties. Joseph Halter, Christian Richter and and D. Heisserer were prepared to acquire them in court for 4,000 pounds. Outraged [at the proposed sale of the church property], George Lux protested to the Director of Haguenau. Article 6 of the law of November 17, 1794 specified that the presbyteries were to be sold, with the profit to the Republic to be placed at the disposal of the municipalities to be used for housing teachers and to receive pupils. Finally, however, the presbytery was not sold and it remained property of the commune.

It was also during this revolutionary period that part of our [parish] files disappeared. The registers of baptism, of marriage, and of death of all persons before the Revolution are untraceable. The [Hagenau] Departmental records state that these registers would have been destroyed by fire.

The Parish in the XIXth Century

About the middle of the XIXth century, the parish church, built in 1749, was much too small to contain all the faithful ones. The population of the two villages had increased considerably. From 44 families in 1750, Schirrhein grew to 1337 inhabitants. Thus there was a need to increase the size of the church. Then there arose the difficulty of financing the work, because the commune was without any income and the majority of the inhabitants were poor. The town council had already made a decision in this direction in 1748, but it finally had to give up the project, due to the lack of financial means.

On May 5, 1861, he consulted the Fabric of the Church [an ecclesiastical council], chaired by Ignace Halter, decided to undertake, without delay, the work of enlarging the building. This decision was made in presence of Father Armand Bronner and of the mayor, Joseph Halter. The commune called upon the architect of the Department, who drew up a plan and worked out an estimate. This estimate rose to 15,000 francs. The commune requested from the prefect of the Department a subsidy of 5,000 francs.

Work was completed quickly. It began on August 1, 1866 and was completed on October 29 of the same year. Thus, the capacity was increased thanks to the generosity of the parishioners and without the commune spending money. It was with an obvious satisfaction that the Father Armand Bronner could write in the Register regarding the deliberations of the Fabric Committee that served the inhabitants of Schirrhein and Schirrhoffen. All owed them a debt for their genuine Christian faith, placing the parish between the hands of their Pastor and [as] they surrendered their last mite to have a house worthy of God.

Hitherto, it was necessary to cross the cemetery to reach the church [Note: Cemeteries in Alsace and other places in Western Europe were habitually placed around the church itself]. Father Armand Bronner, very content with his parishioners, yielded five acres of the court of the presbytery to provide easier access to the church. The commune could thus build a road connecting Station Street to the church. Moreover, Father Bronner paid the 571 franc cost out of his own pocket.

Mr. Bernhart, architect of the town of Haguenau, calculated the expenditure and dealt with the work. It was [contracted with] the company Zimmermann de Gries, of the canton of Brumath, which was in charge of the completion of the work. It was made a duty to scrupulously respect the [engineering] plan and the [cost] estimate established by the architect. This estimate was 6,700 marks, but it proved so inadequate that this sum was greatly exceeded. The cost of construction, including the fees of the architect, rose to 11,685 marks. To cover this expenditure, the commune took a loan of 8,000 marks. The parish provided the remainder, i.e. 3,685 marks.

On June 12, 1876, the wall of the church was completed and on December 15 of the same year the tower was clearly completed. The horsedrawn wagon carriers of the village carted to the construction site the various necessary materials. Thus were brought the gravel from Sessenheim, the stone from Bischwiller, and the sand [for the cement] from Henri Dorrffer of Schirrhein.

The belltower was the responsibility of Mayor Antoine Halter during the year 1877 and was financed by the commune. On the other hand the priest and his faithful parishioners provided the bells, as well as the organ. The two new bells, of which the largest weighed 366 kilo and smallest 178 kilo, came from the company of Edel Ludwig, a founder of the company of that name in Strasbourg.

Opening of the VICARIATE in 1892

About 1890, the parish counted about 1600 people. With this number, the priest did not have yet the right of biner - to celebrate two masses the same day - and the church was not large enough to accomodate everyone. Therefore many of the faithful could not attend church each Sunday, nor make an act of confession and attend the church on feastdays. In addition, the priest, [Father] Zitvogel, a fragile and sick man, could not ensure [that he could provide] the required hours of religious teaching in the schools. The parish had about 350 children of an age that required them to be provided such education. Thus, it was judged that it was necessary to open a vicariate in Schirrhein. Lévêque answered this request favorably.

The town council granted to the first Vicar an annual pay of 280 marks and made arrangements for a room [a residence]. The town council of Schirrhein asked Schirrhoffen to pay for part of the costs of opening a vicariate and to pay the Vicar an annual wage of 150 marks. But Schirrhoffen categorically refused to pay such the money.

The vicariate was of short duration. It was eliminated in 1900 after the departure of the priest François Reichert.

The following is a list of the priests of Schirrhein during this [latter] period:
- Auguste Schmitt (February through December 1892).
- Joseph Wagner (1892-1894).
- Alphonse Eger (1894-1896).
- François-Xavier Augustin (1896-1897).
- Jean-Baptiste Düffner (1897-1899).
- Louis Kemmel (he signed his last document in 1899).
- Jean-Baptiste Düffner (1897-1899).
- Louis Kemmel (he signed his last document in 1899).

New Additions to the Church in 1897

It was Father François Reichert who completed the interior renovation of our old parish church. The record of the deliberations of the parish committee mentions that on July 4, 1897, the curé Reichert and the members of the consulting committee organized a collection in the parish. On their part, the Muttergottes Jungfrauen [ a parish association] also conducted a collection for the acquisition of a new banner. On the whole, the two collections made it possible to gather the sum of 2,146 marks. Thanks to this money, additional work was undertaken inside the church: repairs, installation of a floor under the banks [?] as well as the repair of the gates. A new pulpit was installed. It came from Saint-Louis of Strasbourg. They also bought a new cupboard for the robes of the children of the choir and another for the surplis and robes of the priests. In addition, flagstones were procured from Sarreguemines and were laid in the nave of the church, and those flagstones were made into a mosaic. The church was entirely repainted. The amount of these expenditures was 2,912.80 marks. The interior of the church remained thus [unaltered] to the Second World War.