St. Martin im Felde Church, Oltingue

The Martinskirchlein is located about 500 meters from the village of Oltingue in the middle of the fields. It was once the mother church of Oltingue and three other villages that no longer exist today. In the 7th century, one of the local large families built a cemetery chapel on the site of an old Gallo-Roman court. Archaeological excavations carried out in 1989 on the church, now a listed building, established four phases of construction from the 12th to the 13th century. The current building dates from the end of the 13th century; the neogothic windows and doors were used in 1868. During the excavations, several objects were unearthed that can still be seen today: a coffin monolith (7th-8th c.), A tomb from the 8th century with a skeleton whose raised feet touch the bones of Five bodies were stored, a sign that the grave was used several times. Among the grave goods were found a Carolingian shard, an iron belt buckle, a Charlemagne coin knocked down at Strasbourg in 840 and a stone box with a skeleton and bones of 30 persons. Near the church, prehistoric tools made of flint as well as Roman ceramics, bricks and carved stones were brought to light. Remains of stone walls and a septic tank on the hill of Oltingue indicate a Gallo-Roman fortification at this point.

In 2018 the church will be renovated. There are severe restrictions. The renovation has been completed and there is also a stork's nest again.

Very pretty little church outside of Oltingue, view from Raedersdorf towards the center of Oltingue.