Église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Viarmes, church located in Val-d'Oise, in France
Église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Viarmes is a Gothic church begun at the end of the 12th century and finished around 1220, with a flat chevet, the north elevation of the nave and the base of the 13th-century bell tower surviving from that first building. The north aisle was rebuilt in the 14th century, the nave and aisles were vaulted in Flamboyant Gothic in the last third of the 15th century, and the south aisle was rebuilt in the second quarter of the 16th century with lierne and tierceron vaults and pendant keystones. The tower was restored in 1885-1887 with a new cupola and spire, and a neo-Gothic facade was added in 1889.
Construction began at the end of the 12th or start of the 13th century and was likely finished around 1220, on the site of a chapel already dedicated to Saint Peter. The flat chevet, the old north nave windows and the base of the bell tower survive from this first church. The north aisle was rebuilt in the 14th century, but rib vaulting waited until the last third of the 15th century, in Flamboyant Gothic. The south aisle was rebuilt in the second quarter of the 16th century; the tower was restored in 1885-1887 and a neo-Gothic facade added in 1889.
The church is the centre of a parish grouping of four communes and hosts several masses each week. Its name links it to Saints Peter and Paul, but the building also keeps furnishings from the church: the local history museum Pierre-Salvi, housed in the former château on Place Pierre-Salvi, displays several pieces of furniture that came from the church.
The church sits in the center of Viarmes between Rue de Paris and Rue Jean XXIII, accessible from all sides, though surrounded by nearby buildings that limit the overall view. The adjacent Place Pierre-Salvi offers a good vantage point to see the buttresses and building structure and can be explored together with the church.
The flat chevet, once lit by a triplet of windows, the old high windows on the north side of the nave and the base of the bell tower are the only parts remaining from the first church, completed around 1220. The bell tower was heavily restored between 1885 and 1887, when it received a new crown and a rather original spire. The church was listed as a monument historique only on 29 March 2004.
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