Saint-Jacques et Saint-Christophe church, Catholic church building in Houdan, France
Saint-Jacques et Saint-Christophe church is a Gothic and Renaissance place of worship in the small town of Houdan, west of Paris. The long nave has tall stone walls and a dark tiled roof, while the choir shows softer Renaissance shapes.
Building began in the 14th century and continued for over 250 years, paid for by the townspeople themselves rather than by nobles or clergy. During the French Revolution, the church was taken over by the city and briefly used as a Temple of Reason.
A chapel on the north side holds a wall painting of a 1582 pilgrimage to Montserrat, made by local people to ask for an end to a plague. The scene has small figures of nuns and workers with their names written, giving a rare sense of ordinary lives from centuries ago.
The building stands near the center of Houdan and is visible from a distance, but its main entrance is on a modest street, so give yourself time to walk around it. Inside, the floor can be uneven and the stone walls keep the air cool even in summer, so a light layer is useful.
The lintel above the west door carries an inscription about the Supreme Being, a leftover from the revolutionary change of use that visitors often walk past. Many people also miss that the organ, from 1739, keeps its original old mechanical action and still plays.
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