Iron Church Sainte Barbe of Crusnes

Sainte Barbe Church was built between 1938 and 1939 in Crusnes. Unique in its kind, it is entirely made of iron and bears witness to the industrial and social history of Lorraine. Ordered by the Wendel family, owner of the Crusnes iron mines, Sainte Barbe was conceived as a prototype of churches that could easily be assembled and would facilitate the building of churches around the world, especially in Africa. But plans of industrial mass production were impeded by the outbreak of WW II, and Sainte Barbe remains the only building of its kind to this day. The iron church was composed of a small number of simple elements. This form of construction was meant to ensure that even unskilled workers in African missions would be able to build a church. A steel framework was erected before the individual metal planks or deals were inserted - not unlike a child´s construction kit. In the 1980s, Sainte Barbe was in very bad shape: entirely covered in rust, it was threatened by demolition. It is thanks to the committed citizens of Crusnes and the dedication of the Association of the Friends of Sainte Barbe that a restoration campaign was finally undertaken and the beautiful iron church could be saved