St-Jean-Baptiste (Chaumont)

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West facade
inner space

The Roman Catholic Basilica of Saint-Jean-Baptiste is the main church in the town of Chaumont in the region Grand Est in France . The parish church of the diocese of Langres is dedicated to John the Baptist , it bears the title of a minor basilica and is listed as a monument historique . The church, built in Gothic style, with its two towers dominates the oldest part of the city, which is on the northwestern edge of the Chaumont plateau.

history

The church was built in the early 13th century to meet the needs of a growing population. She quickly benefited from numerous donations, especially from the Chaumont bailiffs. It was elevated to a collegiate church on December 18, 1474 by Pope Sixtus IV . Major works were carried out from 1517 to 1543, with the building being richly decorated in the 18th century. In 1862 it was included in the list of the Monument historique. Pope Pius XII raised the church to the rank of minor basilica in 1948.

Layout.

architecture

The three-aisled basilica was built on a cross-shaped plan. The west-facing twin tower facade and the nave date from the 13th century, the entrance through the Johannes portal in the south is typical of the 14th century Gothic. The choir and transept date from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Furnishing

Jesse tree
Stained glass

The basilica has significant church furnishings . By Jean-Baptiste Bouchardon include the high altar (which is currently in the Rosary Chapel), the pulpit and the pew in front of the pulpit come. In the 15th century the burial place of the d'Amboise family was created in a chapel to the left of the west portal. Jean IV D'Amboise, Bailiff of Chaumont, and his wife Katharina de Saint-Belin are depicted on its painted ceiling.

The modern stained glass is the work of Calixte Poupart.

The church houses an outstanding example of the Jesse tree in high relief, which dates from the first quarter of the 16th century. It is made of limestone and is 4.50 meters high and 3.20 meters wide at its base. It shows Jesse sitting and sleeping. The tree itself bears a dozen figures and is crowned with a virgin and child. On the first branch, on the left, David can be recognized by the harp he is carrying. The giant head lying on the floor Goliath . On the right you can see the standing figure of the prophet Isaiah .

organ

The great organ of the basilica is a cavaillé-coll from 1872 , inaugurated that same year by Charles-Marie Widor , the famous Parisian organist. This organ consists of 36 registers, which are distributed over three manuals and a pedal board. The Louis-quinze-style case, built in 1768, was enlarged on the sides by Cavaillé-Coll to accommodate the pedal stops.

The titular organist from 1990 to 2012 was Vincent Freppel, successor to Annette Merer, titular organist from 1962 to 1982.

literature

  • Hélène Billat: La basilique Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Chaumont. Dominique Guéniot (collection Parcours patrimoine ), 2009, ISBN 978-2-87825-448-8 .

Web links

Commons : Basilique Saint Jean Baptiste de Chaumont  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Basilique Saint-Jean-Baptiste on gcatholic.org
  2. Entry no. PA00079013 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  3. La diablerie de Chaumont or recherches historiques sur le grand pardon general de cette ville . Mion, 1838 ( full text in Google book search).
  4. ^ Basilique Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Chaumont. Roger Calixte Poupart (Lyon 1911 - Melun 1977), Artiste Peintre et Maître Verrier, accessed on August 10, 2020 (French).
  5. PM52000292 Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine.
  6. J. feriel: Chaumont. Arbre de Jessé à l'église Saint-Jean , dans Mémoires de la Société historique et archéologique de Langres. 1860, pp. 29-36 ( gallica.bnf.fr ).

Coordinates: 48 ° 6 ′ 45 ″  N , 5 ° 8 ′ 18 ″  E