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Origin and history

The Saint Martin Tower, located in Vendôme in the Loir-et-Cher, is the only vestige of the parish church of Saint Martin, rebuilt between 1498 and 1588. This 50-metre bell tower, built in a Gothic and Renaissance style, was initially used as a central element in the religious building. The church, mentioned in the 11th century, was entirely rebuilt under the impulse of Mary of Luxembourg from 1498, with a nave completed in 1534 and a transept completed around 1588. The tower housed a bell offered in 1410 by Louis de Bourbon and restored in 1530 by his great-grandson, Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme.

During the French Revolution, the church was sold as a national property in 1791 to M. Chevé, Mayor of Vendôme, then transformed into a wheat hall. The bell tower became a municipal belfry in 1792. In the 19th century, the building deteriorated: a floor added in 1826 weakened the structure, causing the partial collapse of the vault in 1854. Despite attempts at reparation, the municipality decided in 1857 to destroy the church, retaining only the tower, still used as a belfry today.

The Saint Martin Tower symbolizes the architectural evolution between Gothic and Renaissance, marked by prestigious donors such as the Bourbon Vendôme. His carillon, evoking the cities of the dolphin Charles VII ("Orléans, Beaugency, Vendôme ..."), recalls his historical and cultural role. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1913, it dominates Place Saint-Martin, a silent witness to Vendôme's urban and religious transformations since the Middle Ages.

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