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Origin and history

The Saint-Martin church in Lognes was a Catholic building built between 1898 and 1903 in the city centre, on a land donated in 1877 by Edward André, then mayor. Partly financed by Gaston Menier, heir to the local chocolate dynasty, she pays tribute to this family by capitals decorated with stylized cocoa leaves, symbolizing Lognes' major economic activity at the end of the 19th century. The stone architecture, of sober style, is characterized by a Latin cross and a bell tower over the entrance, while its wide bays offer remarkable brightness.

The interior decoration, the result of a public commission in 1998, is the work of artist Christophe Cuzin. The twelve abstract and monochrome stained glass windows, made with the Duchemin workshop, play on biblical symbols (Apostles, rivers of Eden) and clean geometric shapes (crosses, circles). The walls, covered with acrylic paint flats framed in white, complement this contemporary aesthetic. The church also houses two classified objects: a bronze bell of 1676 and a statue of Saint Martin of the sixteenth century, testimonies of his earlier history.

The present building replaces a first church built at the end of the seventeenth century, then located on the outskirts of the village, near the cemetery. Its restoration between 1994 and 2000, supported by the DRAC Île-de-France and the city, preserved this unique blend of industrial heritage, traditional sacred art and modern creation. Cuzin's publicly funded artistic project marked a cultural renaissance for this place of worship at the turn of the 21st century.

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