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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Nicolas du Bourget, located at the corner of the avenue de la Division-Leclerc and the street of the Commander-Brasseur in the Bourget (Seine-Saint-Denis), is a Catholic religious building whose origins date back to a first dedication to Saint Nicholas in 1551 by Charles Boucher, Bishop of Mégare and Abbé de Saint-Magloire in Paris. The present church, rebuilt in 1742, replaces an older building and embodies 18th-century religious architecture in Île-de-France.

During the French Revolution, the church was transformed into the Temple of Reason and then dedicated to the Supreme Being by the Convention. It was looted in 1815 by Prussian troops after the Battle of Waterloo, and then damaged during the Franco-German war of 1870, particularly during the Battle of Bourget on 30 October 1870. These events inspired artistic works, such as the painting Le Bourget, October 30, 1870 by Alphonse de Neuville (1878), a sketch of which was exhibited at the Musée d'Orsay.

The building was restored three times (1885, 1906, 1983) to repair the damage suffered. The choir houses a painting by Georges Bergès (1913), entitled Apotheose des Combats du Bourget, commemorating the heroic defense of the city in 1870. Classified as a Historic Monument in 1912, the church remains an active place of worship, hosting a biennial mass at the International Air and Space Fair.

Its history reflects the political and military upheavals of France, from the Revolution to the 19th century conflicts, while illustrating the role of churches as symbols of resistance and collective memory. The artistic representations related to his looting in 1870 testify to his importance in the national imagination.

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