Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Germain-d'Auxerre de Coulmier-le-Sec, built in the 13th century, replaces an ancient Romanesque settlement destroyed around the 10th century. This Gothic monument, located in the Côte-d'Or department, features a three-span nave with arches on cross-pieces and a typical flat bedside, inspired by Templar buildings. Its broken arched bays and oculus illustrate medieval religious architecture, while its bell tower, rebuilt several times, dominates the cross of the transept.

In the 18th century, a triangular front porch was added, topped by a bas-relief representing a bishop, reflecting the Baroque additions of the period. The bell tower, destroyed in 1940 by German aircraft during the Second World War, was rebuilt after the conflict with an enhanced arrow and four reduced bell towers. The current bells, melted between 1947 and 1949 by the foundry Blanchet in Paris, replace those lost, with evocative names such as Jeanne-Françoise (655 kg) or Renée-Cécile-Marcelle, nicknamed "la timide" for her acute sound.

The interior contains remarkable furniture: a monumental painted crucifix and a 16th century Child Virgin, a lutrin and a 17th century Christ, as well as polychrome statues (Saint Germain, Saint Nicholas) and an atypical ovoid Baptistery. Funeral floor tiles and stained glass windows add to its artistic heritage. Classified as a historic monument on 26 March 1941, the church embodies both a medieval heritage and transformations related to the conflicts of the 20th century.

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