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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens de Vaux-sur-Seine, founded in 1154, preserves the western portal from its Romanesque origin. The present Gothic building, built from the end of the 12th century, replaces a primitive chapel. Its hemicycle bedside and nave, initially flanked by two collaterals, bear witness to a homogeneous and neat architecture, despite subsequent changes.

During the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), the church suffered extensive damage: the southern collateral was demolished, the bell tower repaired summarily, and the vaults of the nave and the northern collateral were bent in the sixteenth century. These alterations, often unaesthetic, partially altered the original harmony, especially with the suboptimal recovery of the northeast pile of the transept.

Ranked a historic monument in 1926, the church was restored in 1970. It houses remarkable furniture, including a 16th century classified Virgin with Child, as well as statues and paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, affiliated with the parish of Meulan, it still hosts celebrations.

It is considered to be one of the most accomplished of the French Vexin. Its windows, decorated with carved columns and capitals, illustrate the care given to the decoration. The prominent foothills and radiant dog-shaped vaults reinforce its architectural elegance.

The western, bipartite facade blends Romanesque elements (portal in the middle of a triple archivot hanger) with later additions. The bell tower, rough and unworked, seems to have been damaged and repaired after the Hundred Years' War. Its irregular apparatus and its curved bays contrast with the finesse of the rest of the building.

Under the Old Regime, the parish depended on the archdiocese of Rouen and the dean of Meulan. The term Saint Peter-aux-Liens recalls the imprisonment of St Peter in Jerusalem in the year 44. The church, built on the hillside near the castle, dominates the village and the Seine, in a picturesque setting marked by a pronounced elevation.

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