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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativity church of Pontaubert, located in the Yonne in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, was built in the 12th and 13th centuries by the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem (future Order of Malta). His novel plan, without transept, includes a nave of four spans with low sides, a slightly low choir, and a trapezoidal apse typical of military orders. The two-storey elevation, with large broken arcades and high windows, illustrates the harmony of Burgundy art. The capitals mix water leaves (Romanesque part) and hooks (Gothic additions). The bell tower, dominating the first span, has 13th-century gelatin archatures, while the west gate, under a 16th-century porch, has a historic tympanum (Adoration of the Magi and Assumption).

Ranked as a Historical Monument in 1862, the church was restored in 1873 by Abbé Minard, who adjusted a neo-Gothic statuary and furniture (including a pulpit and a balustrade). The original furniture includes a 12th-century Virgin with Child, probably linked to the school of Vézelay, and a medieval tomb bearing a Latin inscription mentioning Guy and Geoffroy, perhaps Guy of Autun, the local lord who made a donation to the command office in 1251. The stained glass windows, mostly from the 19th century, retain a 15th century grayness. Remnants of the Hospitallers' Office remain, such as a house and an underground cellar under the village square.

The building reflects stylistic transitions between Roman and Gothic, marked by discrete defensive elements (trapezoid absides) and sober decoration. The belfry, once with four bells, has been preserved only one since the Revolution. The frame, dated 1748, bears the mark "I-F". Subsequent modifications (XIXth century) include removal of the roof of the porch to illuminate the nave, addition of a balustrade and a stair turret, as well as aesthetic restorations (false white joints, apparent stones in the 1960s).

The site also preserves tombstones of the XVII-XVIII centuries and ancient consecration crosses on the pillars. The church, originally equipped with a wooden skirt and side altars (one per pillar), sees its furniture evolve with liturgical reforms, such as the displacement of the baptismal tank after Vatican II. Its history, in conjunction with that of military orders and local lords, makes it a major witness to Burgundy's religious heritage.

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