Church of Saint-Rémy - Troyes

The Saint-Rémy church is one of the oldest in Troyes : its existence has been proven from the 10th century.

At that time, the church was outside the city walls and depended on the canons of the cathedral. Within the new city walls that were built in the 13th century , the church underwent a number of extensions and renovations . It also received new stained glass windows paid for by wealthy Trojan families.
The 12th century bell tower was renovated in 1360 and the 62 metre high slate spire was turned to make it more resistant to the wind. This technique was a real architectural feat in the 14th century!
The 15th-century portal is located under a wooden portico that replaced the former narthex (entrance porch) in the 19th century.

On the tower is painted a clock face decorated with sunbeams and a single hand (the mechanism no longer works today). On top of the tower, in the corners, are two angels. One holds a flying dove, symbolizing the dawn, the other a burning torch, symbolizing the night. The figures on either side are Saint Remy on the right and his mother Saint Celinia on the left.

Further on, on the tower’s buttress, an 18th-century sundial indicates solar time (or true time) in good weather. The Latin inscription beneath it reads “SICUT UMBRA DIES NOSTRI SUPER TERRAM”, which means “On Earth our days pass like the shadow”.

The interior of the church is lit by large Gothic windows with three leds. There are several paintings by the Trojan painter Jacques de Létin (1597-1661) and, above the high altar, the famous bronze Christ by François Girardon , a Trojan sculptor (1628-1715) also responsible for the fountains at the Palace of Versailles.
The church, which was threatened with destruction, was saved from demolition by the protests of the inhabitants and was listed as a monument in 1908.

Willem Vandenameele