This week let us zoom all the way to France. Your
bee is heading to the Saint Etienne Protestant church in Mulhouse, a city in
eastern France. Mulhouse is the second largest city of the Alsace region after Strasbourg.
The roads in some parts of the city are still cobbled, retaining the centuries’
old roads. They look as good as new! The city is close to the German and Swiss
borders.
The St. Etienne church is located in the centre of
the city, with a bell tower that can be spotted from quite a distance away. Renovations
are going on, and will take a few years to be completed. It is around 12 noon,
and the sun is blazing! We are grateful to enter the cool confines of the
church. We walk in through the tall wooden doors.
The facade of the church
A long, wide hall welcomes us inside. Strips of thick
white cloth are tied across the church in a criss-cross pattern. A small board
near the entrance tells us that it is to support an upcycling project.
The strips of cloth draping the entire interior
The notice about the project
Stained glass
paintings depict different portions from the Bible on long French windows
across the church. Stone pillars at intervals support the inside. There is a
big altar, and as characteristic of a Protestant church, there is no cross or
any image. A slightly elevated seat for the celebrant who conducts the service stands
in the centre of the altar. Above this seat is a wooden balcony sort of
structure.
The altar
On the walls are hung contemporary art depictions of
Biblical stories and characters. Near the altar is a huge star that is made of
what appears to be seaweed! A lot of the notices are in French, so I am unable
to make out much of what is written.
Stained glass paintings on the windows
We follow the others who take a small stone spiral
staircase that leads us to the first floor of the church. The renovation has
blocked out a portion of the seating area. Visitors and tourists happily click
pictures of the beautiful interiors. Here too there are stained glass paintings
of portions from the Bible. Each vertical panel has sub text in the bottom in
French, German and English. We slowly make our way over the creaking wooden
floorboards. The sun rays pass through the stained glass, leaving multi-coloured
patterns on the floor, creating a beautiful art form!
The dance of the sun rays
The strips of cloth all over the church
The first floor is possibly not being used by the worshippers
during service, as it is almost entirely blocked for the renovation. We slowly
make our way down to the beautiful melody of the church piano. A lady is sitting at the piano and churning out a lovely tune, adding to the overall atmosphere. We spend a few minutes admiring her music, and walk towards the entrance. There are small baskets for devotees to drop money.
We step out, back into the sun to continue on our
sojourn of the ancient city. I leave you here for now readers; I hope you
enjoyed your virtual tour. Till we meet again, stay safe, and stay devout!
