Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Martin in Vomecourt-sur-Madon, built in the 12th century (dating confirmed by dendrochronology in 2015, with wood felled in 1126), is a jewel of Lorrain Romanesque art. Its basilical plan, inspired by the churches of Relanges and Champ-le-Duc, includes an original five-span nave (reduced to three after the modifications of the eighteenth century), a salient transept, and a chorus ending with an apse framed by absidioles. Classified as a Historical Monument in 1908, it is distinguished by its complex Romanesque tympanum, illustrating biblical scenes such as The Holy Women in the tomb and a battle of knights, as well as its carved capitals (foliages, palmettes, bearded characters). The west facade, pierced by an oculus, houses a niche with a statue of St.Martin on horseback (16th century), symbol of the parish formerly dependent on the chapter of Remiremont.

Between 1737 and 1740, major transformations altered its medieval structure: the removal of one pillar over two in the nave, the widening of the windows of the lower side, the piercing of bays in a broken hanger in the transept, and the replacement of multiple roofs by a single cover, occulting the high windows. This work, inspired by the recommendations of the Council of Trent (1545–163), aims to modernize the building and clarify the liturgical space. The northern absidiole is destroyed on an undetermined date, while restorations are carried out in 1911 (roof, panelling), 1925, and 2015 (carpent, stained glass). The bell tower, although Romanesque, is partially rebuilt later, with an added floor. A 2011 dendrochronological analysis confirms the logging of the bell tower after 1117, reinforcing the dating of the 12th century.

The architecture combines local limestone (dolomie-moellon) and remarkable carved decorations: impostes adorned with vegetal or geometric motifs, billet cornice, and historic capitals (like a character between two water jets, baptismal symbol). Inside, the nave and bottoms are covered with panelling, while the transept cross and south crusillon have dogid arches with various profiles (tore or square section). The cul-de-four vaulted L A spiral staircase serves the attic and the bell tower, 16.5 meters high.

The classified furniture includes elements from the 16th–15th centuries: a baptismal tank (1704), a golden wooden master altar (1760–70), and polychrome wooden statues (Vierge à l'Enfant, Saint Sebastian). The church, a communal property, dominates the village and its cemetery, showing the influence of the Remiremont chapter on the region. Its tympanum, walled and then rediscovered in the 1880s, and its carved decoration make it a major building of Romanesque art in Lorraine, alongside Relanges and Champ-le-Duc.

The recent restorations (2015) have made it possible to date precisely the Romanesque structure and to preserve the sandstone lavas of the abside, replacing the mechanical tiles installed in the twentieth century. Despite the modifications of the past centuries, the church preserves rare medieval arrangements, such as the two orders of columns of the bedside, decorated with billets and godron capitals, or the three-ressaulted Romanesque portal, where a snake symbolizes original sin among foliage.

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