SAN MARTIN CHURCH

What intrigues when you arrive on the outskirts of Saint Martin's church is, of course, this astonishing juxtaposition of old and modern, which gives the ensemble a very funny feeling. This unusual architecture is the result of a more than turbulent story. The original building, started in 1530, was finished somewhat laboriously in 1574. A relief sandstone above the portal attests that date. Unfortunately, in 1641, in the middle of the Thirty Years War, the church was partly burned by Louis XIII at war against the Netherlands. The church's evil destiny continues during the Revolution when it is sold as a national property for only 200,000 francs! Doomed to demolition, she is saved in extremis by a zealous municipal agent who emphasizes how useful the church tower could be to warn the population… in the event of a fire in particular! But here, in the nineteenth century, the church is too small and above all too antiquated. We have to rebuild it. Built with the stones and bricks of the old demolished building, the new church nevertheless preserves the tower that is then given a carillon and a clock. Yet this new church will last only a hundred years before being a victim of a new fire in 1998, which will save only the old tower. It's tough for a xve century tower! Rebuilt in 2004, the new building consists of a large rectangle of modern style, coupled to the tower. Within the church, only baptismal fonts dating from the sixteenth century and a polychrome sculpted group of the seventeenth century, representing Charity of Saint-Martin, recall the rich past of the building. On the outskirts of the church, you can also observe vestiges of colonnades and capitals of the very first building. Architectural curiosity, witness to a turbulent regional history, Saint Martin's Church of Annœullin does not lack interest!