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Origin and history

The Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativity-de-la-Vierge, located in Magny-en-Vexin in Val-d-Oise, replaces a previous church partially dated from the 13th century, burned in 1436 by the English during the Hundred Years War. The reconstruction began around 1490 under the impetus of Pierre Le Gendre, lord of Magny and high royal official, who entrusted the works to master mason Guillaume Lemaister of Gisors. The choir, the collaterals and the crusillons of the transept are erected in a flamboyant Gothic style between 1490 and 1530, while the medieval parts, such as the bell tower piles, are preserved and adapted.

In the 16th century, the church expanded south and north in a Renaissance style, with the addition of a south side low flanked by chapels (1540-1561) and a second north crusillon. The successive construction campaigns, led notably by the lords of Magny like Nicolas II de Neufville, transform the building into a harmonious mixture of flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance. The southern gate, completed in 1548, and the chapel of the Virgin, built in the early seventeenth century, illustrate this stylistic transition.

The church houses remarkable furniture, including a Renaissance Baptistery of 1534, considered one of the oldest in France, and the prayers of the Neufville de Villeroy, classified funeral sculptures of the sixteenth century. After revolutionary vicissitudes, where it was closed to worship and looted, the church was restored in the 19th century and classified as a historical monument in 1908. Today, it remains a major testimony of religious architecture in Île-de-France, combining local history and artistic heritage.

The church plan, in the shape of a Latin cross, reflects the constraints of the terrain and the successive extensions. The choir, vaulted in star, contrasts with the more sober nave, while the lateral chapels, covered with Renaissance ceilings, house works of art such as classified paintings and statues. The exterior, dominated by a richly decorated south façade, hides a Gothic apse and a discreet bell tower, highlighting the stylistic duality of the building.

Among the treasures of the church are a 14th century Virgin with Child, a 17th century organ and 19th century stained glass windows depicting biblical scenes. The graves of Magny's lords, like those of Villeroy's Neufville, recall the political and religious role of these families in the region. The church, still active, thus embodies almost six centuries of Vexino history, between the Hundred Years War, Renaissance and contemporary heritage.

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