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Origin and history

The Saint-Nicolas Church of Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, located in the Yvelines, is a monument whose origins date back to the 9th–Xth centuries with its Romanesque crypt, one of the oldest religious testimonies in the region. The present building was mainly built in the 12th century, and then thoroughly redesigned in the 15th and 16th centuries, especially after the collapse of its structure in the 14th century. The nave and south side were rebuilt at the end of the 15th century, while the north side, transformed in 1523 under the impulse of Prior Odart de la Vove, became the parish church of St.Nicolas. These works reflect the importance of the priory, linked to the abbey of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés as early as 717, then to the archdiocese of Paris from 1536.

The crypt, dated before 949, is the oldest vestige on the site. In 1104, after a fire, the reconstruction of the church was undertaken from east to west, marking its architectural evolution. In the 15th century, the sculpted girdle frame was added, while in the 16th century, the north side was enlarged to accommodate the faithful. Subsequent modifications, such as the addition of three spans in 1902 or the restoration in the 20th century, preserved this building as a historic monument in 1993. His history was also linked to local religious life, with a chapel mentioned in 1738.

Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines was a prosperous priory, dependent on Saint-Maur-des-Fossés until the Revolution. Conventual buildings, visible until the 18th century, bear witness to its central role in the region. The church, owned by the municipality since the 19th century, now embodies a Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance heritage, reflecting almost a millennium of religious and architectural history in Île-de-France.

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