Eglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, located in Vendôme (Loir-et-Cher), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Vendôme, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.7941, 1.0654
- Mérimée Reference
- PA41000022
Founded in 1474 by the Count of Vendôme, the church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine reveals a late-Gothic flamboyance of rare elegance, crowned by a steeple with a stone spire and an apse with sophisticated ribs.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
In the heart of Vendôme, a town that was one of the great centres of flamboyant Gothic architecture in the Loire Valley, the church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine stands as a discreet but precious testimony to an era of architectural renewal. Listed as a Historic Monument, it does not rival the famous façade of the Trinité, but it has its own intimate, coherent quality that centuries of successive extensions have not succeeded in erasing. What immediately distinguishes the building for the attentive visitor is the silhouette of its north-western bell tower: a polygonal stone spire with protruding edges adorned with hooks, rising above an octagonal drum pierced with three-lobed openings and encircled by a balustrade with flamboyant motifs. This belfry is a fine example of late Gothic aesthetics applied with care and skill. Inside, the light flows in with remarkable ease for a building of this period, thanks to the wide pointed arches and the use of semi-cylindrical columns that open up the central nave. The apse concentrates the most sophisticated effects: ribbed vaulting with liernes and tiercerons, a large axial bay with intertwined curves and counter-curves, a graphic play typical of the flamboyant style at its height. The nave's panelled roof with its sculpted, polychrome cross-beams is a reminder of the church's original state, that of a modest chapel that, in the space of a few decades, became a veritable monument. A walk around La Madeleine takes you through five centuries of Vendôme piety and successive architectural ambitions: the chapels added in the 17th century, the small 19th-century extensions, the organ loft - all layers that tell the story of the ordinary and extraordinary life of an urban parish. The church is set in an exceptional historic area, just a stone's throw from the Abbey Church of La Trinité, whose flamboyant façade is an absolute masterpiece of Gothic art in the Vendôme region.
Architecture
The church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine fully belongs to the flamboyant Gothic style of the Loire region, as it developed in the second half of the 15th century and the early 16th century. Its layout became more complex over the centuries: a six-bay north aisle was added to the original nave, followed by various side chapels to the south, resulting in an asymmetrical but coherent structure built around the central nave. The most remarkable exterior feature is the north-west bell tower, whose polygonal stone spire with its projecting hooked edges rises above a bell chamber pierced by pointed-arched openings. An octagonal drum, lit by three-lobed bays and flanked by pinnacles, forms the transition between the square tower and the spire, all crowned by an openwork balustrade with flamboyant motifs. This stylistically coherent arrangement bears witness to the particular care taken over the silhouette of the bell tower. Inside, the flamboyant Gothic style is evident in the complex network of window infills, in the sculpted decoration of the buttresses, and above all in the apse: the large central window displays a sophisticated play of curves and counter-curves, while the ribbed vault with liernes and tiercerons forms a stone canvas over the choir. The supports adopt prismatic forms - characteristic of the late flamboyant style - with semi-cylindrical pillars on the nave side and pillars with prismatic mouldings on the side aisles. The nave's panelled roof with carved and polychromed joists is a precious vestige of the building's original state, combining woodwork and medieval polychromy.
Related Figures
Jean VIII de Bourbon-Vendôme — comte de Vendôme, fondateur de l'église en 1474Jacques Malon — contrôleur du grenier à sel, commanditaire de la chapelle seigneuriale en 1523Marie de Luxembourg — comtesse de Vendôme, grande mécène de l'architecture gothique flamboyante vendômoiseE. Marganne — architecte vendômois du XIXe siècle, auteur du projet de reconstruction refusé
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine located?
Eglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine is located in Vendôme, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Eglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine built?
Eglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine open to visitors?
Eglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine is currently closed to visitors.