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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of the Nativity-de-la-Vierge, originally dedicated to Saint Fiacre, is built mainly in the 16th century in a Renaissance style, with flamboyant Gothic elements such as the northern lower side (1530). Connétable Anne de Montmorency, who acquired the seigneury in 1551, financed his construction and employed craftsmen who had worked on his Château d'Écouen. Master mason Nicolas de Saint-Michel directs the work of the nave, choir and south side, completed in 1587. The upper registers of the façade and the bell tower, of baroque style, date from the late seventeenth century, while the bell tower bulb is added to the eighteenth century.

Ranked a historic monument in 1840, the church is distinguished by its architectural harmony and slender elevation. Its interior, marked by colossal columns and vaults with liernes and thirdons, illustrates a transition between Gothic and Renaissance. The stained glass windows, recomposed in the 17th and 18th centuries, include 15th century fragments and representations of the Montmorency family. The building also preserves remarkable furniture, such as a 14th century nursing Virgin and 16th and 17th century funeral slabs.

The church is part of the landscape of the country of France, where Anne de Montmorency marked religious architecture. Its funding by the Montmorency family, its early ranking and its mix of styles make it a unique testimony of sacred art in Île-de-France. The western facade, inspired by ancient triumphal arches, and the bulb bell tower, rare in the region, highlight its originality. The restorations of stained glass windows in the 20th century preserved this fragile heritage, while revealing its stylistic evolution.

The north side, begun in 1531, preserves Gothic elements such as carved dais and arches with complex veins. Outside, the northern facade offers a rich but eroded flamboyant decor, while the southern and eastern elevations, more sober, highlight the large Renaissance bays. The interior, illuminated by these openings, creates a luminous atmosphere despite high blind walls. The stylistic unit of the central ship, built in a single campaign, contrasts with the diversity of influences visible in detail.

The classified furniture includes funerary slabs, such as that of Blanche de Popincourt (1422), and a 17th-century work bench decorated with Saint Fiacre, former church patron. The windows of bays 0 to 2, dedicated to Montmorency, date from the 16th and 17th centuries, while those of the lower side (baies 8 to 11) mix religious scenes and local donors. These elements, combined with architecture, illustrate the social and spiritual role of the church, a place of memory for lords and parishioners.

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