Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Martin de Fontenay-Trésigny, located in the Seine-et-Marne department in Île-de-France, was built in the 14th century to replace the abbey of Chaage, built four centuries earlier. Joined historical monuments in 1991, it illustrates an architectural transition between Romanesque and Gothic styles, marked by successive transformations between the 15th and 18th centuries. Originally surrounded by a cemetery and a processional path, it served as a place of parish worship and burial for the local lords, as evidenced by the seigneurial gate now walled.

The four-sided bell tower, with gargoyles and three bells (including Martine, founded in 1723), dominates the entrance. A lantern of the dead of the Middle Ages, partially murated, once reported the dead of the parish. Inside, the nave and choir conserve oak woodwork from the 17th and 18th centuries, a pulpit of 1623 carved by Jean Philipeau, and 19th-century stained glass windows depicting religious scenes. The chapel of Saint Joseph houses a memorial triptych of the First World War, while the chapel of the Virgin exhibits a composite statue (head of the sixteenth century, body of the eighteenth), reconstituted after the revolutionary destructions.

Among the classified furniture are the baptismal fonts of 1521, paintings from the 17th and 19th centuries (including the Adoration of the Shepherds of Nicolas Baullery), and the panel of the choir dating from 1689. The site also includes a 15th–12th century calvary and Morin fountain (16th century), also classified. The church, dedicated to Saint Martin, now depends on the missionary pole of Mormant. Its history reflects religious and political upheavals, from architectural changes to revolutionary ruins, such as that of the tomb of the lords Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, whose bones were dispersed in 1789.

The oldest stained glass windows, in the chapel of the Virgin, are alongside more recent works, such as the Baptism of Christ (1844) by Isidore Pean of the Pavilion, offered at the church after his exhibition at the Salon de Paris. The crypt, accessible from the chapel Saint Joseph, once housed the burials of the local lords, including François Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquis de Tresigny, and his brother, Bishop of Rennes. Their mausoleum, destroyed during the Revolution, symbolizes the heritage losses of this period.

Nearby, the Morin Fountain (XVI century) and the medieval Calvary complete this historical complex, testifying to the parish and seigneurial life in Fontenay-Trésigny. The church, owned by the commune, remains an active place of worship while offering a panorama of French sacred art, from Gothic baptismal fonts to baroque woodwork, through the traces of the conflicts that marked its history.

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