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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Church of the Holy Trinity of Choisy-au-Bac, located in the Oise, is a parish Catholic building whose construction began in the 12th century by the Romanesque nave, followed by the transept and the façade, and then ended in the 13th century with the apse and bell tower, clearly Gothic. Its architecture combines archaic and Gothic Romanesque elements, reflecting a complex stylistic transition. The radical restoration between 1853 and 1885 erased many historical clues, making its evolution difficult to trace.

The nave, of Romanesque inspiration, has arches in the middle of the wall without columnettes, while the transept and the choir adopt Gothic elements, such as the arches of warheads. The bell tower, of a stripped but imposing style, is the only one in the region to have so many bays on the belfry floor. The church was classified as a historical monument in 1920 and is now attached to the parish of the Sixteen Blessed Carmelites of Compiègne.

As early as the 7th century, the site of Choisy-au-Bac housed a basilica dedicated to St Stephen, linked to the Royal Palace of Compiègne, where Merovingian kings such as Childebert IV and Berthe at the Grand Pied were buried. This basilica, abandoned at the Revolution, contrasted with the present, more recent parish church. The adjacent priory, dependent on Saint-Médard de Soissons Abbey, played a major role in local development.

The interior of the church reveals an austere nave with arches of warheads added in the sixteenth century, contrasting with the Gothic choir and its carved capitals. The apsidioles, arched in cul-de-four, retain a Romanesque style despite their broken arch windows. The exterior, largely redesigned in the 19th century, has a neo-Gothic facade and a 13th century bell tower, unique in its structure.

The furniture includes classified elements, such as a 16th century statue of the Holy Trinity, 16th century baptismal fonts, and a beam of glory dismantled. These objects bear witness to the religious and artistic importance of the building throughout the centuries.

The church, now open to worship, embodies a rich architectural heritage, marked by Romanesque and Gothic influences, and a history linked to the Merovingian monarchy and local ecclesiastical evolution.

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