Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Martin de Branches, located in the department of Yonne, is mentioned as from the seventh century as dependent on the abbey Saint-Germain d'Auxerre. Around the year 1000, she passed under the guardianship of the monks of La Charité-sur-Loire. In 1220 Guillaume de Seignelay, bishop of Auxerre, founded a priory attached to the abbey of the Grand-Saint-Bernard of Montjoux, whose remains remain in the present church. This priory, dismantled at the Revolution, gives way to a church partially rebuilt in the 12th, 15th and 17th centuries, mixing Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles.

The building preserves various architectural elements: a 12th century Romanesque nave, a choir and Renaissance-style bays, as well as 16th-century stalls and 17th-century woodwork. Its interior decoration is marked by classified medieval frescoes, including a procession of 32 characters on the southern wall, typical of Burgundian Romanesque art. These paintings, partially restored in 2005, represent scenes such as Jesus' entrance to Jerusalem, as well as geometrical motifs and figures of saints.

The church also houses remarkable furniture, including a 17th century Virgin with Child, statues like that of St Sebastian, and paintings such as Mary Magdalene at the foot of the Cross. Its history reflects the close links with local religious institutions, including the Archdiocese of Sens-Auxerre and the medieval priories. Ranked a historic monument in 2001, it now depends on the parish of Notre-Dame-des-Trois-Vallées.

The frescoes, discovered and restored, reveal various artistic influences, ranging from the novel to the Gothic, through traces of the Renaissance. Among the notable representations are Saint Barthélémy with a sword, or a knight in 13th century armor. These elements underline the heritage importance of the building, both for its architecture and for its painted decor, a witness to religious and artistic practices in Burgundy.

Outside, the church, rebuilt in the 19th century, has a west facade and a flat bedside, inscribed in a simple rectangle. Its furniture, described as "rustic and homogenous", completes a collection of local history and sacred art. The presence of these frescoes, rare and well preserved, makes it a major site for the study of medieval mural painting in Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

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