Collégiale Saint-Martin de Champeaux

About

The former collegiate Saint-Martin de Champeaux is a parish Catholic church in Champeaux, France. It replaces an older abbey church, where a chapter of twelve secular canons had replaced the religious in the early twelfth century. He was placed under the protection of the bishop of Paris, and began the construction of a new church around 1160.

Its dimensions are particularly impressive: with a length of 65 m, it is one of the largest Gothic churches of the 12th and 13th centuries in Île-de-France. This also explains the slowness of the construction site, which was interrupted between 1220 and 1270, and the austerity of the architecture. Indeed, there is no triforium, and the windows are provided with networks only in the collaterals of the choir.

This does not exclude a careful execution, with particularly fine monolithic columns and high quality capitals. Despite the length of the project, the overall stylistic consistency is ensured. The influences of the cathedrals of Paris and Sens are identified.

Renaissance stalls and remarkable stained glass windows...