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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Nicolas de Guiry-en-Vexin, located in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France, is a religious building whose origins date back to at least the fourteenth century, with major reconstructions in the sixteenth century. It is believed to have been built on the foundations of an earlier 13th century church, which was preceded by a Merovingian chapel or church suggested by local archaeological discoveries, such as sarcophagi and burials of the early Middle Ages.

The present building presents a cross-shaped plan with no side-line, with a nave of four spans, a salient transept and a square apse choir. The bell tower, integrated with the western facade, dominates the entrance and dates from the second half of the 16th century, just like the first two spans of the nave, marked by the Renaissance style. The rest of the church, including the southern crusillon and the eastern parts, is flamboyant Gothic, with windows with some of the most elaborate networks of the French Vexin. The older north crusillon preserves 14th-century elements, such as late radiating windows.

Ranked a historical monument in 1942, the church houses an exceptional 15th and 16th century statuary complex, with eighteen classified statues. Among them are representations of local saints such as Saint Roman, presumed founder of the first church, or Saint Nicholas, patron of the parish since the 15th century. The furniture also includes a fence of carved wooden baptismal fonts, 16th century stained glass fragments, and 14th and 16th century murals, originally located in the north crusillon.

The history of the parish is marked by its successive connection to the dioceses of Rouen, Versailles and Pontoise from 1966. The church, formerly the centre of an independent parish, is now integrated into a parish assembly, with quarterly Masses. Restorations, sometimes controversial as that of the western portal in the 19th century, altered certain elements, but local associations, such as the one founded in 1984 by Jacques Sirat, worked to preserve it.

The building also preserves traces of its seigneurial past, such as a vault under the southern crusillon, vaulted in a cradle dating back to 1619, as well as an underground formerly linking the church to the castle of Guiry. These elements, rediscovered in the twentieth century, bear witness to the close links between the church and local lords, such as the family of Guiry, whose weapons appear on several vault keys.

Architecturally, the church is singularized by structural peculiarities, such as the subdivision of the transept square into two parallel vaults, or the nine vaulted vault of the north crusillon. These choices, combined with a rich yet sometimes altered sculpted decor, make it a remarkable example of the evolution of architectural styles in Île-de-France between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

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