Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The abbey of Saint-Martin-ès-Aires de Troyes was founded in the 9th century to house the relics of Saint Loup, bishop of Troyes and legendary defender of the city against Attila. Originally built outside the walls in the form of an oratory dedicated to Our Lady, it became a place of pilgrimage after the miracles attributed to Saint Loup. Destroyed by the Vikings in 887, the Oratory was rebuilt inside the ramparts, and the monastic community adopted the rule of St Augustine in 1135 under the impulse of Bernard de Clairvaux, then taking the name of Saint Martin in homage to Martin de Tours.

In the 17th century, Abbé Thévignon undertook a major reconstruction of the Claustral buildings, initially made of wood, with works completed in 1759. The abbey, seized as a national property during the Revolution, was sold in two lots: one including the abbey house, bought by the Ladies of the Sacred Heart, the other transformed into a cotton mill and then into a children's hospice around 1830. His written heritage, including 1,124 manuscripts inventoried in 1791, is now reduced to a few works such as the Ordo Processionum or David's Psalms explained.

The 42.5-metre-long abbey, with two bell towers, was partially dismantled (departures transferred to Villemaur, a jube destroyed in 1760). Ranked a historic monument in 1987 and 1989, it now houses the University Institute of Trades and Heritage (IUMP) and the School of Higher Design of Troyes, in buildings dating from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The chapel of the Child Jesus, added to the 3rd quarter of the 19th century, completes this architectural ensemble marked by successive reallocations.

The protected elements include the galleries of the cloister (17th-15th centuries), the 17th-century wooden staircase, the large entrance gate, and the floor of the ancient abbey church. Owned by the municipality of Troyes, the site illustrates the transition between religious heritage, industrial revolution (filature) and contemporary educational vocation.

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