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Saint-Nizier church
A homogeneous architecture with specific features
Relics at the origin of a parish.
The church of Saint-Nizier stands on the site of one of the town's oldest places of worship (an oratory or even a basilica) dedicated to Saint Maur as early as the end of the 6th century, of which no trace remains. Until the French Revolution, a service was held here on the saint's feast day.
The 12th bishop of Troyes, Gallomagne, a contemporary of Gregory of Tours, attended the Council of Macon in 581, and it is highly likely that he went to Lyon to collect the relics of Saint Nizier and bring them to the place of worship in Troyes, which took the saint's name and became the centre of a parish. Saint Nizier was the 20th bishop of Lyon, appointed in 553.
In the Middle Ages, the church of Saint-Nizier was located in the part of the Saint-Jacques district known as the "Entre-deux-portes" (between the two gates): the Pont-Ferré gate and the Saint-Jacques gate, close to the cathedral.
The fire that ravaged the city in 1524 spared this district. As a result, the inhabitants of other parishes migrated to the church of Saint-Nizier, which was rebuilt to accommodate more worshippers.
Listed as a historic monument in 1840, this is the only building dedicated to Saint Nizier in the Troyes diocese.
Exterior architecture.
The church was rebuilt in the early years of the 16th century and completed between around 1570 and 1582, marking the transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance style. Very homogeneous, it is similar to Saint-Nicolas, but differs in that it has a transept*. Its Burgundian-style roof of multicoloured glazed tiles, restored in 2018, makes it an unusual building in the Bouchon de Champgne.
There is one peculiarity: the large body set into the masonry indicates that a courtyard was certainly envisaged, but that the architectural design changed during construction.
The tower of the church of Saint-Nizier also bears some similarities to the bell tower of the clock in the church of Saint-Jean-au-Marché.
The portals of the Saint-Nizier church present an abundant testimony to the art of the portal in the 16th century.
The gable protected by a farm above the side portals of the church constitutes one of the specificities of architecture in southern Champagne in the 16th century, little represented in Troyes.
Interior architecture.
The Saint-Nizier church measures 49 meters long, 28 meters wide and its vault rises to 17.50 meters in the nave.
It has a two-storey elevation with large and high windows, except at the ends of the transept*.
The transept* and nave.
Construction of the non-projecting transept* began after 1524 and continued with the last three bays of the nave.
Its width is extraordinary, as are the large windows that occupy the entire surface of the walls, from bottom to top; no less astonishing is the complex design of the vault ribs, forming a regular grid.
A star motif decorates the vault of the transept*. The flamboyant Gothic infill* of the nave bays is reminiscent of the chapels in the choir of Saint-Jean-au-Marché church. The bays in the left arm of the transept* were subsequently rebuilt in the Renaissance style.
The nave has two levels. The elaborate design of the vaults is enhanced by the sobriety of the elevations and the absence of sculpted decoration.
For more information on the history of this building.
Flyers are available from the museums concerned.
Works from the "beautiful 16th century" Troyes
The church of Saint-Nizier contains works of great quality, evidence of the Trojan school of stained glass and sculpture in the 16th century.
The stained glass windows.
The stained glass windows date back mainly to the period when the building was rebuilt and enlarged in the 16th century. Some of them have suffered extensive damage, with panels and entire windows sometimes disappearing, not to mention the addition of stained glass windows from other churches from the 17th century onwards.
Nevertheless, these stained glass windows have inspired other buildings in the region. They were restored in 1901 after a bomb exploded in the choir.
The Crusifixion and the Resurrection, c. 1505-1510.
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Flyers are available from the museums concerned.
Religion surrounded by the Evangelists, c. 1580.
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The meeting at the Golden Gate, c. 1531.
This stained glass window, on the reverse of the south portal, was donated in 1535 by Etienne and Jeanne Richer.
It depicts the meeting of Anne and Joackim at the Golden Gate.
Joachim is tending his sheep in the distance and hears an angel announce the birth of a child (the Virgin Mary). In the foreground, Anne and Joachim can be seen on the drawbridge of the Golden Gate in Jerusalem.
Once again, the scene occupies the entire stained glass window. Once again, the church of Saint-Nizier shows similarities with other churches in Troyes.
In fact, this grisaille* enhanced with silver yellow is contemporary with those in the south aisle of the church of Saint-Pantaléon and the Saint Agathe in the church of Saint-Jean-au-Marché.
It bears witness to the extent to which the Italian Renaissance influenced Trojan artists from 1530 and 1540, and is characterised by the expressiveness of the figures.
Saint loup, Saint Mesmin and Saint Aventin, 1934.
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Entombment sculptures, early 16th century.
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Saint Julien, 16th century.
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Another curiosity: war memorial, 1927.
Henri Marret, a native of the Paris region, was a prizewinner at the Salon des Artistes Français and a teacher at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Appliqués, where he taught freesque and decoration from 1923. He used this technique to create the Monument aux Morts, which features a Christ on the Cross supporting a First World War soldier.
For more information on the history of this building.
Flyers are available from the museums concerned.
GLOSSARY
Marguillier : member of a parish council.
Fabrique : group of clerics or lay people administering the property of a church.
Remplage : stone framework of stained glass windows forming an ornamental network.
Grisaille : a glass painting technique using glass powder mixed with various metallic oxides depending on the desired colour. It is deposited on the surface of glass that has already been fired.
The glass is then annealed at a lower temperature to fix the colour pigments.
Jaune d'argent : process obtained by applying silver salts to the surface of the glass, which turns yellow on firing.
Tabernacle : small cupboard placed on the altar or built into the wall of the choir of a church, used to store the consecrated host.
Monture en chef-d'oeuvre : a delicate process for integrating new pieces of glass into another hollowed-out sheet of glass. It is used to insert small elements that you wish to highlight.
Ciboire : a sacred vessel with a lid in which consecrated hosts are kept.
Bas-relief : scultpure in which the figures protrude sharply, almost independent of the background.
Haut-relief : scultpure in which the figures protrude sharply, almost independent of the background.
Polychrome : including several colours.
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