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Origin and history

The Sainte-Marie-Madeleine church of Mont-Notre-Dame, located in Aisne (Hauts-de-France), is an emblematic monument dating back to the ninth century. Founded by Girard de Roussillon and his wife Berthe, granddaughter of Charlemagne, it housed relics of Saint Marie-Madeleine and served as a strategic place between the dioceses of Soissons and Reims. The medieval building, rebuilt in the 12th to 13th centuries in Gothic style, was the scene of councils, royal visits (Saint Louis, Jeanne d'Arc) and repeated destructions (fires, wars, hurricane of 1659).

The college, looted by the Huguenots in 1568 and bombarded in 1650, lost its towers and choir before being reduced to a parish church. During World War I, it was mined and destroyed by the Germans in August 1918, leaving only the Romanesque crypt and some remains. Emperor William II had admired him shortly before, on 17 June 1918.

Rebuilt between 1929 and 1933 by architects Georges Grange and Louis Bourquin, the new church combines reinforced concrete, stone and brick, in an art deco style combining Romanesque and Gothic influences. His interior decoration, signed by Ernest Sediey (sculptures), Eugene Chapleau (fresques) and Jacques Damon (glass windows), makes him a masterpiece of the religious revival of the 1930s. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1998, it still dominates Mount Haut (122 m) with its 63-metre arrow.

The site preserves traces of its medieval past, such as the crypt of the 12th century and capitals exhibited at the Saint-Remi Museum in Reims. The tomb of Marie-André Poniatowski, in the adjoining cemetery, also recalls his modern history. The church, a communal property, symbolizes both local resilience and 20th century architectural innovation.

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