Colmar celebrates the 125th anniversary of Saint-Joseph church with the immersive show “Terra Alsatia”

At nightfall, under the neo-Gothic vault of Saint-Joseph, the columns merge into an unreal light, the benches become tiers, the faces light up. At the heart of the district of the same name, the Colmar building becomes a setting for a live and immersive show called Terra Alsatia (1).

Every evening, until November 16, two performances bring to life a territory marked by the upheavals of History, between 1870 and 1945, by narrating the fictitious destiny of two families tossed around by wars and changes in borders. Carried by 300 volunteers, this saga is part of the celebrations of the 125th anniversary of the parish.

Supported by the Factory Council – the material management body of the church, made up of lay people, the mayor and the priest – the idea of ​​this show emerged naturally. “Terra Alsatia highlights the soul of a church, but also that of a district born from the textile industrial boom,” underlines Germain Mergel, president of the Factory Council. Equipped with his set of keys, he ensures security and welcome on the site, discreet but omnipresent during the performances. To accommodate this event, the parish’s agenda has been adjusted: masses moved to neighboring churches, times adapted. “Saint-Joseph remains available during the day for celebrations and funerals,” insists Father Robert Abelava, parish priest.

23,000 spectators expected

The mayor of Colmar, Éric Straumann, supports this approach where worship coexists with culture: “This initiative allows Colmarians far removed from religious practice to discover a place that they would never have visited,” underlines the councilor, for whom “Terra Alsatia» is also part of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Colmar. For the performances, not a cent was paid by the municipality. Implementation of technical resources, mobilization of professionals… Everything was taken care of by the organizer.

“Terra Alsatia it’s a budget of 700,000 euros, entirely financed by ticketing,” explains Jérôme Bigeard, director of TSE, the organizing company. He made the bet to achieve financial equilibrium with 23,000 spectators spread over 65 sessions. Having already worked in sacred places, notably in Lyon (Rhône) and Domrémy (Vosges), Damien Fontaine (2), the director, recalls that “churches have always been spaces of gathering, of life, sometimes even of celebration. These are not places of austerity. We can find there the joy, the color, the light of yesteryear.”

In Colmar, he combines the region’s wine-growing past with the very construction of the Saint-Joseph church. Local memory is thus translated through a play of lights, image projections and videos. But beyond entertainment, Terra Alsatia turns out to be a human adventure for those who volunteered.

Collective breathing

In one of the side naves converted into boxes, Isabelle, in her sixties, is preparing to enter the stage. Nurse, bourgeois, grape harvester… she will play one role after another. “Playing in a church was unprecedented. But I understood that this adventure had meaning: it allows you to discover a place and create a bond with the population.” Among the volunteers, Quentin, 20 years old, BTS horticulture student: every Saturday evening, by bike, he usually comes down from his village of Niedermorschwihr to go to the early mass celebrated at Saint-Joseph. Passionate about theater and folklore, the young man saw in Terra Alsatia a unique opportunity to bring family history to life.

“When we play, we get goosebumps. We feel that we are carrying something bigger than ourselves,” he confides. During the final scene, he puts on with particular emotion the traditional costume of his ancestor, the one he wore during the liberation of Colmar on February 2, 1945. “I am committed to the duty of memory,” he explains. A necessity for him, in a global context that he considers worrying, where children, women and men are still confronted with the horrors of war.

More than a sound and light and much more than a show, Terra Alsatia is a collective breathing, an act of shared memory. In the brilliance of the lights, the voices of yesterday join those of today, reminding us that a church can still bring together, move, and revive hope in a tormented world.

1) terra-alsatia.fr

2) Find out more: damien-fontaine.com