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Origin and history

The church Our Lady of Chatou, also called Our Lady of the Assumption or Our Lady of Salut, is the first church of the city, built in the 12th century on the site of an earlier Merovingian sanctuary. Originally built of wood in the 11th century, it was destroyed during a Norman incursion before being rebuilt in limestone. Its Romanesque bell tower, the only vestige of the 12th century, dominates a short nave framed by low side and illuminated by stained glass windows. The flat bedside and the choir below bear witness to the initial levels of the building, while the western facade, of neo-Gothic style (1880), imitates that of the Paris church Saint-Germain-l-l-Auxerrois.

The church underwent major changes after the bombings of the Franco-German war of 1870, which weakened its structure. The architect Paul Abadie, known for the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, led his restoration in 1872: he added an arrow to the bell tower, renovated the nave with canned pillars, and built a sacristy and a baptismal chapel. The present façade, by Eugene Bardon (1880), replaces an earlier porch. Ranked as a historical monument in 1905 for its statue from the Virgin to the Child (14th century), the church was registered in 1925. A last restoration in 2009, led by Matthieu Joulié, allowed his work to go on.

Inside, the furniture reflects different eras: an organ by John Abbey (1878), enlarged in 2001, alongside a painting by Eugene Thirion (1876), Jeanne d'Arc listening to his voices, and a copy of La Cène by Isidore Dumont (1878). The stained glass windows, mostly from the 19th century, include four works by Emmanuel Chauche (1984) on the southern facade. The building, located Place Sainte-Marie, saw its urban environment transformed in the 1960s with the displacement of the Chatou bridge and the disappearance of historic streets, such as Rue de la Paroisse.

The church Our Lady embodies the original core of Chatou, before the urban extension of the 20th century (as the church of St. Theresa, 1930s). Its location near the Seine and the island of Impressionists makes it an emblematic place, linked to the local artistic history. In 2021, the opening of the exhibition place Berthe and Edgar on the square, in tribute to 19th century artists, strengthened its cultural anchor.

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