Église Saint-Nicolas de la Ferté-Vidame, Baroque church in La Ferté-Vidame, France.
Église Saint-Nicolas de la Ferté-Vidame is a baroque church built in 1658–1659. Its south facade has a central arched wooden door painted red, flanked by two terracotta statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in niches, protected by a limewash layer. Above the door is a round window with a cross-shaped stone frame. The facade is banded with red brick and pale stone and topped by a curved pediment with a stone cross; the steep brown-tiled roof ends in a small stone cross.
The building was constructed in 1659, replacing an earlier religious site that had served as a Protestant temple during the French Wars of Religion. Its establishment marked the restoration of Catholic worship following the 16th-century conflicts.
The church keeps a bell named "Jean Joseph Rosalie", cast in 1769 by Nicolas Simonnot and restored in 2014. Its choir is closed by a 17th-century baluster rail, and the main altar has a tabernacle forming a retable dated 1750. Three windows by the Duclos workshop of Le Mans, from 1867, show Jesus among the Doctors, Saint Nicholas and Saint John the Baptist.
The church is located at Place Saint-Simon in the Eure-et-Loir department and welcomes visitors during available hours. It is best to check locally in advance to confirm access times for your intended visit.
In the Saint-Simon burial vault, in the Resurrection Chapel in the right arm of the transept, a funerary slab records that the hearts of Louis de Saint-Simon and his wife rested there until 1794. The memorial text also names the Marquis Jean Joseph de La Borde, renewer of La Ferté-Vidame, and his daughter Rosalie, buried in 1771.
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