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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Notre-Dame de Marle Church, located in the Aisne department in the Hauts-de-France region, is a religious building built between the 12th and 14th centuries. Classified as a historical monument since 1846, it illustrates the medieval architecture of Picardia. His bell tower, marked by history, saw its bells looted during the First World War, then replaced in the 1920s and 1930s by the founder Charles Wauthy.

In 1917, the five church bells, melted in 1880 by Paul Drouot, were removed by the Germans. Five years later, in 1922, four new bells, named Marie-Victorine-Thérèse, Marie-Alphonsine-Antoinette, Charlotte-Valentine-Émilie and Marie-Joseph-Jeanne, were installed. In 1936, two other bells, including the bumblebee Marie-Geneviève-Héloïse-Louise, completed the whole. In 1955, a bell cracked in 1940 was replaced by a new bell melted by Armand Blanchet.

Inside, a tomb with a lier, long attributed to Enguerrand de Bournonville, is in fact that of his son Antoine, who died in 1480. This tomb, very damaged, was rebuilt around 1850. Enguerrand de Bournonville, meanwhile, was buried in 1414 in the church of Saint-Médard de Soissons, now extinct. This historical confusion adds a mysterious dimension to the church's heritage.

The building, owned by the commune of Marle, preserves traces of its medieval past and the vicissitudes of the two world wars. Its bell tower, with six bells with evocative names, remains a symbol of resilience for the inhabitants. The accuracy of its location is considered satisfactory, with an approximate address at 7 Rue Serraurier.

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