Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Collège Notre-Dame-en-Vaux de Châlons-en-Champagne, built between the 12th and 13th centuries, replaces a chapel attested from the 9th century near the Mau River. His story begins with a papal bubble of 1107 confirming the goods of the chapter, followed by a charter of 1114 specifying the maintenance by the canons. The partial collapse in 1157, mentioned in the chronicles of the abbey Saint-Pierre-aux-Monts, accelerated its reconstruction in primitive Gothic style, financed by the increase of the prebends authorized by Pope Alexander III around 1176.

The reconstruction spread from 1157 to 1217, marked by jurisdictional conflicts between the canons and the cathedral chapter (1181-1187). The church, blessed in 1183, sees its transept and nave raised around 1190-1210 to standardize the vaults. In the 13th century, wooden arrows crowned the towers, and a flamboyant porch was added in 1469. The collegiate church, a pilgrimage centre to the Virgin, also houses the controversial relic of the Holy Nombril of Christ (attested to in the 15th century), destroyed in 1707.

The French Revolution mutilates the monument: two arrows are demolished for their lead, the south gate is hammered, and the furniture destroyed. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1840, it was restored in the 19th century (arrow rebuilt in 1852, carillon of 56 bells offered in 1859). Its 12th century cloister, demolished in 1759, was partially rediscovered in the 20th century; Its column statues are now on display at the Cloister Museum. Since 1998, it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a stage of the Santiago de Compostela Roads.

The architecture mixes Romanesque influences (square towers, Rhine plan) and Gothic (quarupartite vaults, walk-through with radiant chapels). The southern gate, carved around 1170 with column statues, and the 16th century stained glass windows (including those of Mathieu Bléville) bear witness to its artistic influence. The glass windows, like that of St James (1525), illustrate biblical scenes or gifts of local notables, while the organs, attested since 1409, undergo multiple transformations until the 19th century.

The college, an ancient parish church divided into five parishes in the 13th century, embodies the religious and social history of Châlons. Its carillon, its canonical classified houses, and its funerary slabs (like that of Jean Talon, intendant of New France) make it a place of memory. The excavations of 1856-1858 revealed substructions of the Romanesque abside, confirming its evolution since the 11th century. Today, it remains a heritage symbol of the Great East.

Future

The Collégiale Notre-Dame-en-Vaux is one of 71 monuments and 7 portions of paths have been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1998 under the official title "Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle en France".

It was at the edge of one of the 4 classic tracks (Via Turonensis, Via Lemovicensis, Via Podiensis and Via Tolosana). The pilgrims therefore had to make a detour to visit it.

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