Eglise Saint-Julien-l’Hospitalier de Maizières-lès-Brienne

Présentation

According to the opus spicatum* and the remains of an arch above the western portal, the central nave of the church of Saint-Julien-l’Hospitalier dates back to the 9th-11th centuries, compared with similar elements present in the nave of Brienne-la-Vieille. This original space was enlarged by the addition of two side aisles in the 12th century. The south wall of the bell tower also dates from this period. The choir was rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th century, the eastern part of the transept around 1520 and the western bay around 1530-1540. The church has a nave with three naves of three bays. The transept is double and the timber-framed bell tower rises on the western part of the south arm. The choir has a straight bay and a three-sided apse. The installation of the stained glass windows, contemporary with the reconstruction of the building, took place around 1525-1530. The whole, restored in 1908, left in place in 1939, suffered considerable damage during the Second World War. In 1944, an explosion completely dismantled or shattered the stained glass windows. Their remains, collected in 1956 by G. Vinum, were restored and reinstalled in 1960 by the Simon-Marcq workshop in Reims. Some panels have been permanently lost, such as the one dedicated to Saint Nicholas dating from 1513. The iconography of the surviving stained glass windows is classical. We find the Passion, whose Calvary is similar to that of Ceffonds in Haute-Marne; the Life of the Virgin and the Childhood of Christ, in a stained glass window offered around 1525 by a certain Guillaume Belez (bay 1); figures of Saint George, Saint Peter, Saint John the Baptist (near that of Chavanges), the latter two presenting a couple of donors. A stained glass window dedicated to Saint Madeleine was donated by “good people” of Maizières. Two panels representing the Virgin in glory and an angel, were recently reinstalled. The building has been listed as a historic monument since June 19, 1926 and the old stained glass windows have been classified as objects since November 15, 1894. *Masonry dressed in fishbones Collect the keys at the town hall on Wednesday afternoons and Fridays during lunchtimes.