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Origin and history

The church of Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc de Gien succeeds two earlier buildings. The royal collegiate Saint-Étienne, built in Gothic flamboyant by Anne de Beaujeu, was inaugurated in 1514. Its bell tower, probably earlier, is one of the few remains of this period. The church was damaged during the Revolution and disused in 1828. It was replaced in 1832 by the church of Saint Peter, designed by architect François Pagot, who suffered a tragic fate: bombarded on 15 June 1940, its upper parts collapsed after a fire on the night of 21-22 June.

The reconstruction of the present church, dedicated to Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc, was entrusted to architects Paul and Jean Gélis. Inaugurated on 28 March 1954, it is distinguished by its brick trimmings and its rich interior decoration: terracotta capitals (Henri Navarre for the nave, Georges Muguet for the lower side), stained glass windows signed Max Ingrand, François Bertrand and M. Herzelle, and glass slabs designed by Ingrand. The organs, designed by Paul Gélis, were made by the factor Roethinger, while the five bells were melted by the Bollée settlement.

The bell tower of the ancient St Peter's church, spared by the bombings, has been inscribed in the Historical Monuments since 1940 and 1944. The whole new church (outside the bell tower) was in turn registered on 7 September 2001. This monument thus illustrates a superposition of periods, from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century, marked by destructions and architectural renaissances.

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