Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Nicolas de Pertuis found its origins in the 12th century, first mentioned in 1198 as a ceramic chapel dependent on the church of Saint Peter. Located outside the agglomeration, it became an annex parish at the end of the 13th century. Between 1357 and 1398, successive wars and sieges (including those led by Count d'Armagnac and Henri de Transtamare) seriously damaged Saint Peter's church. In 1397, under the threat of a collapse, his furniture was transferred to Saint-Nicolas, which was erected as a parish church on January 25, 1398. This transition marks the beginning of its architectural expansion.

The construction of the church spans four centuries, with major phases in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1398, it consists of a single nave with three spans, vaulted with warheads, and a small polygonal choir. In the 15th century, six side chapels were added between the foothills, financed by pious brotherhoods: Saint-Antoine (1404), Sainte-Anne (1422), Saint-Jacques (1427), Saint-Honorat and Sainte-Marte (1450), Saint-Sébastien (1467), and Saint-Éloi (1472). Only the three northern chapels remain today in their original state. Saint Peter's baptismal fonts were transferred in 1482, consolidating his parish status.

In the 16th century, the church underwent major changes. A fourth span was added to the west in 1535, flanked to the south by a lateral chapel called the chapel of Monsignor. That year, an earthquake damaged the vaults, resulting in partial reconstruction by the mason Jean Martin, who also enlarged the choir and began the construction of a southern collateral. The works, interrupted by the invasion of Charles Quint in 1536, resumed in 1538 with the help of Mason Jacques Jehan. Despite untapped projects (like a second northern collateral), the church was enriched with new chapels in the 17th century, including that of Sainte-Venture (1617) and the Rosary (1627).

The church organ, mentioned in 1514, was built by Pierre Marchand between 1601 and 1602. Featuring 14 games and 7 pedals, it was restored in 1774-1775 and rebuilt in 1825. The church was listed as a historic monument on October 14, 1911, recognizing its heritage importance. Among the notable figures related to this place, Count Victor Riqueti de Mirabeau (1715-1789), economist and father of the revolutionary Mirabeau, was baptized there.

The present architecture of St. Nicholas reflects these centuries of evolution: a nave and a collateral of four vaulted bays of dogives, a polygonal choir illuminated by stained glass windows, and a western facade rebuilt in 1877. The vaults, decorated with liernes and thirdons, as well as the side chapels (including a covered with a lantern dome), testify to its turbulent history and its central role in Pertuis' religious and community life.

External links