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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Saint Sulpice church of Chemery-sur-Bar, located in the Ardennes, combines Romanesque and Gothic elements. Its 12th century nave, typical of Ardennes Romanesque architecture, features thick walls, square piles and arches in the middle of the hangar. The transept and choir, rebuilt in the 16th century in a Gothic style, are raised in relation to the nave. The square peg tower, Romanesque style, precedes the south entrance, while the bottoms are arched with warheads.

Inside, the church houses a 15th-century statue of the Virgin and Child, Romanesque fonts in Meuse stone, and several funerary slabs, mainly from the 17th century. The latter came in part from Coucy's family, local lords whose members, such as Guillemette and Louise, were buried there. Their hearts rest in Chemery, while their bodies are elsewhere, as in Vervins or Solre-le-Château.

During the French Revolution, the church recovered part of the furniture of the Chartreuse du Mont-Dieu, including wooden stalls, woodwork and a master altar, after the expulsion of the monks and the sale of the monastery as a national good. Ranked a historical monument in 1920, it bears witness to the religious and seigneurial history of the Ardennes, marked by architectural transformations and family heritages.

The captain of the castle of Chemery, who died in 1619, was buried near the graves of the Coucy, symbolizing fidelity to this family. Jacques I de Coucy, beheaded in 1549 for alleged betrayal before being rehabilitated, illustrates the political turbulences of the Renaissance. His son, James II, and his daughters attended the local castle, which had now disappeared, strengthening the link between the church and this noble lineage.

The building, owned by the commune, stands on a height of the village, near the cemetery. Its mixed architecture, funerary elements and furniture from the Chartreuse make it a rich heritage, reflecting both Ardennes Romanesque art, Gothic additions and traces of the seigneurial families that marked its history.

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