In the middle ages, Baerenthal was an annex of the parish at Obersteinbach, the archpriest of Haut-Haguenau, Duchy of Strasbourg. The village assembled around the church of Saint Catherine.
In 1569, the Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg became proprietor of the village and the following year the Catholic religion was forbidden and the Protestant Reformation was imposed.
The church was restored in 1630 but they had to wait until 1739 before a protestant parish was created and the church was officially transferred.
Amongst the vicars that followed, Frédéric-Auguste IHME, (1834-1915) was the better known, as an historian but also for his love of music.
