Eglise Saint-Martin

The church, built on a promontory overlooking the valley of the Vieille in place of a Romanesque church, dates from 1480. The portals and stained glass windows are in the flamboyant gothic style. The woodwork dates from 1695, the interior was restored in 1840 and the church was enlarged in 1847.

It consists of a nave flanked by chapels connected by pointed arches. Each of the chapels is lit by large Gothic openings that have allowed the installation of stained glass windows: Chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Chapel of Saint Barbara, Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, Chapel of Saint Francis of Sales, Chapel of the Virgin, Chapel of Saint Philibert with a large canvas painted in 1646 representing a Crucifixion, classified as a Historic Monument, Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Chapel of Saint Philomena.

The monumental altar of the choir is made of marble. The nave is paved with gryphae stones because of the shells appearing in white on the grey colour.

The bell tower is a square tower with a gable roof. At the four corners, there are winged gargoyles and, to the south, a small turret suggesting access to an old watchtower. The 4 sides are pierced with twin bays without decoration. It houses 4 bells, one of which dates from 1596. The facade opens with 3 doors, the main one is surmounted by a sculpture in the shape of a cabbage that is often found in the decorations in Burgundy. A gothic ogival bay dominates it. On the tip of the gable, a cross decorated with a crown of thorns on a radiating circle

The abbey of Couches gave birth to the parish of which the Benedictines were the first priests. They put it under the name of SAINT MARTIN , bishop of Tours (316-396), popular in this region since the miracle that this saint had performed in the Aeduan region. According to the legend, he performed a miracle at Mont-Beuvray by making the temple erected to the pagan deities on the site collapse by the power of his prayers alone.

Show less