SAINT-MARTIN CHURCH - LEANING TOWER

Those who pass for the first time along the church are divided into two parts: those who see nothing, and those who immediately notice the particularity of the building: this second category is the most frequent! This church, which was built in the 12th and 13th centuries, is a very unified building due to the continuity of its construction site, and which presents many original features. Its bell tower, independent of the building as are the Italian bell towers, is 40 m high. And it is mainly the latter that makes the architectural ensemble here in Étampes so special. As leaned as the famous tower of Pisa, its lack of plumbing is 112 cm! Completed in 1537, it was not attached to the building until the 19th century by the architect Magne. This slope is due to the marshy ground, which is why the ship is equipped with many buttresses. The nave, very bare, is extended by an apse with five semicircular bays from which three chapels radiate. Finally, the ambulatory is inspired by the Champagne region. Today, we will be pleased to look at this architectural curiosity, while not stopping to wonder if, one day, this tower will ever fall or not.