Eglise Saint-Rémy

The church of Saint-Rémy is one of the oldest in Troyes, dating back to the 10th century.

At the time, it was outside the city walls, under the control of the cathedral's canons. Encompassed within the new city walls built in the 13th c., the church underwent numerous extensions and transformations. It also received new stained-glass windows paid for by wealthy Trojan families.
Its 12th-century bell tower was renovated in 1360, and its 62-meter-high slate spire was twisted to provide better wind resistance. This technique was a real architectural feat in the 14th century!
The 15th-century portal is housed under a wooden porch that replaced the former narthex (entrance portico) in the 19th century.

The tower features a clock face decorated with sunbursts and a single hand (the mechanism no longer works). At the top, in the corners, two angels can be seen, one holding a dove in flight, symbolizing the birth of day, the other a lighted torch, symbolizing night. The figures on either side are Saint Remy on the right and his mother Saint Celinia on the left.

Further down, on the buttress of the tower, an 18th-century sundial shows the sun's time (or true time) when the weather is fine. The Latin inscription underneath reads "SICUT UMBRA DIES NOSTRI SUPER TERRAM", meaning "On earth, our days pass like shadows".

The church's interior is lit by large, three-lobed Gothic windows. There are several paintings by Trojan painter Jacques de Létin (1597-1661) and, above the high altar, the famous bronze Christ by François Girardon, a Trojan sculptor (1628-1715) who is also responsible for the fountains at the Château de Versailles.
Threatened with destruction, the church was saved from demolition by the protests of its inhabitants and classified as a Historic Monument in 1908.

St Rémy is a member of the Association des clochers tors d'Europe (Association of European Torn Spires), which lists the hundred or so churches with this unique feature!