The Garrison Church in Metz (French: Temple de Garrison) is located in Metz on the Square du Luxembourg (formerly French: Place du Saulcy; formerly German: Weidenplatz) on the large Moselle island. The neo-Gothic nave was blown up after a fire in 1946, but the tower remained. The church, together with the Mathildenstift (today Hôpital Belle Isle), which was built between 1886 and 1889, formed an architectural ensemble in the neo-Gothic style.[1] The tower has been a listed building since 1972.
After the annexation of the city of Metz during the Franco-Prussian War, the city became an important stationing location for numerous military personnel. The garrison had a strength of over 7,000 soldiers.[2] Even before the first German barracks were built, the Military Construction Directorate built a Protestant garrison church on the western glacis field of Metz between 1875 and 1881. With 2,400 seats, it was one of the largest of its time. 400 places were reserved for civilians. The construction was necessary because the Protestant military had no access to the Catholic cathedral in Metz and most of the other churches in the city were Catholic. The small Protestant church in the Trinitarian Oratory building only held a little over 300 people. Until the garrison church was built, the military service temporarily took place in a riding arena, which had been converted into a prayer room.