Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint George of Fumay, located in the Ardennes, was founded in 1439 under the patronage of Saint George of Lydda. Originally modified in 1683 with the addition of a tower-clocher, then a portal in 1705, it was successively owned by the dioceses of Liège, Metz, and then Reims from 1823. Population growth in the 19th century led to its expansion, transformed into a total reconstruction between 1872 and 1876.

The reconstruction was entrusted to architect Auguste Reimbeau and his pupil Jean-Baptiste Couty, with the financial support of the local patron Davreux, owner of a slate. The building adopted an imposing neo-Gothic style (76 m high), using the yellow stone of Dom-le-Mesnil. Its interior preserves ancient elements, such as a 15th century confessional, while its stained glass windows were offered by local brotherhoods and slate societies.

The church houses a remarkable organ, built in 1780 by Kerst and installed in a dark oak Louis XV buffet. His turbulent history included repairs in 1855, dismantling in 1872, and partial reconstruction in 1923 by Pol Renault after the requisition of tin pipes during the First World War. Despite restoration projects aborted in 1999, the instrument remains a unique testimony of the bill of Ardennes organ.

The carillon of nine bells, with various melodies depending on religious holidays or events (marriages, baptisms), is famous for its finesse. Victor Hugo mentioned him in Le Rhin (1842), highlighting his "crystalline, fantastic, aerial" character. The airs played, like Adeste Fidelis or Ave Maria, have been rhythmic in liturgical and community life since the 19th century.

The church also symbolizes local industrial history, linked to slate: the patronage of Davreux, the donations of slate societies for stained glass, and the use of regional materials (the stone of Dom-le-Mesnil) illustrate this link. Its bell tower and carillon, audible throughout the Meuse Valley, make it a major cultural and spiritual landmark of the Ardennes.

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