Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Martin de Cliron, located in the Ardennes department (Great East), is a fortified church built in the 3rd quarter of the 16th century (circa 1547). It replaces an earlier building with only a few ogival windows and a bell dated 1358, the oldest in the department before its removal in 1917. The building, characterized by its yellow stones, a tower-porch pierced with cannons and attices built in refuge, illustrates the religious defensive architecture of the region. The third and fourth spans of the nave, dogive vaults, date from the seventeenth century.

The interior is home to a nave of four spans, a key arch hanging engraved with names of priests, and black marble baptismal fonts of 1564. The choir, adorned with woodwork, contrasts with the external defensive elements, such as the cannonholes arranged at man's height and the remains of a bow. The church, besieged in 1643 and 1653 during the battles of Rocroi by the Spaniards, bears witness to the conflicts that marked the Ardennes. It was listed in the Historical Monuments in 1927.

Renovated in 2008, the church benefited from work on its structure, masonry and blankets. This restoration was completed by the inauguration of contemporary stained glass windows created by master glassmaker Bruno Pigeon, adding a modern artistic touch to this medieval heritage. The bell of 1358, though gone, recalled the ancient early church, while the woodwork of the choir and the cannons evoke both piety and military tensions of the time.

Located by the national road 43 in Cliron, the church was historically dependent on the municipality of Montcornet (code Insee 08125). Its bell tower, with its murderers, once housed the medieval bell, which was taken by the Germans during the First World War. Today, the monument, a communal property, remains a remarkable example of the fortified churches of the Ardennes, mixing religious and defensive functions.

External links