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Origin and history

The collegiate Saint-Montain de La Fère has its origins in the legend of Saint Montain, a blind hermit of the fifth century (ca. 437), who evangelized the region from a cave near the Merovingian Phara (old name of La Fère). His miracles, such as the healing of the sick at the pit Saint-Montain, drew pilgrims for fifteen years. The feast of May 17, dedicated to this saint who predicted the birth of Saint Remi (future Baptist of Clovis), lasted until the 20th century. The church was probably built at the location of its cave at the end of the 10th century, with architectural traces dating back to the 8th and 6th centuries.

The building, originally a Romanesque building, was profoundly renovated in the Renaissance by Marie de Luxembourg, princess and lady of La Fère. The 11th century portal, described in 1853 as a rare mixture of Romanesque and ogival styles (dents, chevrons, mutilated columns), bears witness to this architectural transition. The church, linked to the neighbouring castle by defensive systems (wood turret, murderers), also served as a watch: a permanent service was established there in 1618, obligatory for ecclesiasticals.

The bell tower, erected in 1588, suffered two fires due to lightning (1732 and 1787) before being shaved during the French Revolution, along with four other towers of the city, by Montain Soret — ironically homonymous of the saint. Admitted for 1,341 pounds in 1794, these destructions reduced the church to its roofs. Of the fourteen original chapels (dedicated to Saint Montain, Marie-Madeleine, Saint Nicholas, etc.), only four remain today. In 1980, excavations revealed funeral fragments, ex-votos and tiles of the missing chapels, confirming the past richness of the place.

Ranked a historic monument in 1921, the college retains traces of its turbulent history: foundations marked 1261, murderous in the bell tower, and a 16th century fire. His portal, threatened with demolition in 1853 for topographic reasons, was saved in extremis, stressing its importance as a pivotal date between Romanesque and Gothic, almost a century earlier at Notre-Dame de Paris.

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