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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Meuge-de-Lourps, commonly known as the chapel of Lourps, is a religious building built in the early 13th century in the commune of Longueville, Seine-et-Marne. Located on a hill near Lourps Castle, it served both as a castral chapel and as a parish church for the village of Lourps. Its portal, dating from the late 12th or early 13th century, features a carved tympanum depicting a triumphant lamb, while its interior, with three vaults of sexpartite warheads, reflects the Gothic architecture of the time.

In the 19th century, after the Revolution which separated it from the castle, the commune of Lourps was renamed Longueville in 1888. A new parish church was built in 1896, closer to the developing urban centre thanks to the arrival of the railway. Abandoned at the beginning of the 20th century, the chapel suffered the collapse of its vault in 1966, triggering restoration work that lasted until 1999. This work, conducted under the direction of the ACMH Jacques Moulin and the restorer Marie-Lys de Castelbajac, saved a rare set of ornamental murals from the 13th and 15th centuries.

The building is surrounded by a cemetery and was classified as Historic Monument by decree of 15 November 1913. His murals, comparable to those of the churches of Lizines, Chalmaison, Champcenest and the collegiate Saint-Quériace de Provins, make him a remarkable example of medieval art restoration in Île-de-France. Joris-Karl Huysmans, in En rade (1887), described his state of degradation before restorations, highlighting his simple but elegant Gothic architecture, marked by beam columns and ogival vaults.

Today, the church of Saint-Meuge-de-Lourps bears witness to the religious and architectural history of the region, combining early Gothic elements and an exceptionally preserved medieval painted decor. Its portal and murals make it a major heritage site of Seine-et-Marne, open to the visit under the management of the commune.

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