Provins Things to Do

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The church stood quietly during the trading decline of Provins as textile and other activities survived. A fire destroyed the crossing tower in 1665 and funds were available for a fine dome which stands out all over the upper town. A cross was erected in the garden across the way on the western spot where the church was to have ended. The simplified west door was not changed

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The construction of St.-Quiriace began in 1160 encouraged by Henri I with its objective to be the largest and finest church in town. As was the custom it started with the chevet (the apse, chancel, choir and ambulatory). Its model was derived from the new style seen in nearby Sens (early Gothic): tall pointed arches, topped by round-arch blind triforium and tall clerestory windows. There was to be no transepts. When they reached the time for vaulting, they stopped. Encouraged by the invention of flying buttresses they conceived of a unique octapartite vault over the apse and lots of flying buttresses, and they added shallow transepts and contemplated Rose windows. It was now 1238. It was time to build the nave and he first two bays were created. But the times were changing and the heyday of Champagne Fairs (and Provins preeminence) was ending and it was annexed by marriage to France. So because the church was big enough the West Facade became a simple wall. The North transept received its lancet windows but no Rose. In the South only a simple window.

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Not only fine 15C stained glass windows greet you but statuary, several pieces in particular also of the 15C done in alabaster: a Nursing Madonna and two Angel Musicians (the creator not given, but he was able to achieve great grace using such soft material. More important perhaps is the fine wood carving in bas relief in panels on various areas of the altar by P. Blasset (11612-63) who died in Provins and is buried in the church; there is a memorial plaque.

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The interior is wide with aisle covered by gallery tribunes, popular at the time of rebuilding, with small clerestory windows. The North aisle was redone in the 15C in Gothic style to give more light and equipped with stained glass windows. The ribbed vaulting ended in fine pendants. As time progressed fine accouterments were added.

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The church was finished in 1084 for a monastery created by the Dukes of Champagne for this, their main city at that time. They lived above inside their walls, the monks in the "suburbs". St. Ayoul was a miracle worker in the are who was buried in 845. The finding of his tomb in 1000 at this site, led to its religious attraction and the resulting Abbey. It was mostly destroyed by fire in 1157 followed by a rebuilding. The last phase was a broad facade of three portals under a porch with a fine tympanum over the central doorway with column statues in the embrasures of the type just evolving in Chartres (a better view of the relaxed style being created can be better seen nearby at St.-Loup-de-Naud; See Our Tips). The scarred doorway has been recently recreated in a dark material by a talented artist.

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The dome Church of Saint-Quiriace tends to dominate the skyline of the upper village along with Caesars's Tower. The plan for the church in the 12th Century proved to be too ambitious when financial difficulties hit and it was never completed. Also a collapse of part of the building and a fire caused some modifications including the dome which was added in the 17th Century. However, it is still an imposing edifice and inside is a very light and elegantly simple church. An historic note: Joan of Arc and Charles VII are said to have stopped to hear mass here in the early 15th Century.

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This was evidently originally a school run by local nuns for the benefit of local girls. It was later owned by Victor Garnier who bequeathed the house and grounds to the town in the 19th Century. I wondered if he was related to Charles Garnier of Paris Opera House fame but could not find out. At any rate the gardens are a lovely spot with beautiful statuary, a Japanese bridge reminiscent of Monet's and ducks and geese tending the little stream.

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Due to restoration work, this church has been locked for several years but it is worth a stop just for the bizarre facade which dates from the 13th Century. The facade (16th Century)is a strange collection of beasts encircled by leafy arabesques. The church was said to have a fragment of the true cross brought back from the crusades, hence its name. During the revolution it was used as a gunpowder factory.