Église Saint-Martin de Palaiseau, Romanesque church in Palaiseau, France.
Église Saint-Martin de Palaiseau is a Romanesque church with a nave and two side aisles under carpentry roofs, giving three gables to the west facade. The central gable has a 12th-century Romanesque portal topped by a 14th-century Virgin and Child sculpture. A 26-meter slate spire rises above the crossing on a tower with paired arched openings.
An abbey was founded on this site by Queen Bathilde during the 7th century, though no trace of that original structure survives. The current building developed over centuries, with major changes in the 19th century reshaping its form.
The church is dedicated to Saint Martin, the apostle of the Gauls, and stands on the heights of Palaiseau near the former feudal castle, above the left bank of the Yvette. The future revolutionary Joseph Bara was baptised here on 31 July 1779. In the crypt lie the remains of the Arnauld family, moved here in 1711 after the destruction of Port-Royal des Champs.
The church stands on the heights of Palaiseau's centre, near the site of the former feudal castle on the left bank of the Yvette, not on a central square. The west facade opens through the 12th-century Romanesque portal beneath the Virgin and Child sculpture; the 26-metre spire and bell tower date from 1866. The crypt holds the Arnauld family remains moved here in 1711.
Above the Romanesque portal on the western facade sits a 14th-century stone carving of the Virgin and Child. This sculpture was officially protected as a historical monument in 1902.
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