Église Saint-Symphorien

What you will see

Walk around the outside first to read the Latin-cross plan, the round-arched windows of the nave and the rose window of the choir. The tower over the crossing holds a manual carillon. Inside, look for a carved wooden lectern of the 15th century, a carved and pierced wooden staircase of the 16th century and an organ of 1761. The old cemetery around the church keeps the graves of local figures, and crosses set in the ground are said to mark a whole family carried off by the plague.

History

The present church was built in a single campaign in the early 13th century, around 1230 to 1240, which gives it a rare unity of style. About a century later a Gothic chapel was added on the north-east side. In 1576 the church, like the rest of Nuits, was damaged when Protestant troops attacked the town. It was repaired in the 17th century: the porch dates from 1624, and a large altarpiece, removed in the 19th century, was added at that time.

At the end of the 18th century a campaign of embellishment raised the floor, recut the columns and repainted the interior, and several restorations in the 19th century gave the church its present look. Saint-Symphorien has been classified as a historic monument since 1913. After a long closure, a restoration completed in 2007 allowed visitors to return.