Temple Evangélique de la Garnison

Built at the beginning of the German annexation from 1875 to 1881, the construction of this church was overseen by soldiers (primarily Protestant) stationed in Metz.  Positioned across the Moselle from Cathédrale St Étienne, its 97m high façade, 1m higher than the Cathédrale's tour de Mutte, was a symbol of the Prussian presence that was visible everywhere.

For a region that has been German a few times, most recently less than a century ago, I met very few Metz natives who actually spoke German.  One worked in sales at the train station.  The other spoke German at his place of work in Geneva.

Damaged during World War II, then ravaged by fire in 1946, the three naves of this church were destroyed.  Only the tower of this neo-gothic building was preserved.

I was not a fan of gothic architecture, but now that I have seen examples of it in person, executed by craftsmen, I have developed an appreciation for it.  The temple was constructed of the local pierre de Jaumont stone.  The photo below is a daylight example of bare pierre de Jaumont on a more modern building, I think it was a house.  Its small, irregular stones had been plastered over at some point, as opposed to the custom cut slabs which were left bare on the church.