And getting back to my belle France, there is so much to see and do! I have as said, taken advantage of having family in the Nord dept 59 of the Hauts de France region to visit some nice towns far from me. This has been the case of Péronne in the Somme dept 80, which I am glad found me another picture in my cd rom vault that should be in my blog for you and me. Therefore, this is my take on the Church Saint Jean Baptiste of Péronne !! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The Church Saint Jean Baptiste was built of stone in the Flamboyant Gothic style, modeled after the “hallenkirche” (hall church), with three naves of equal height and a flat apse. It is 45 meters long and 37.50 meters wide. The cross atop the bell tower reaches a height of 45 meters. The facade is divided into three Flamboyant Gothic porches with trefoil arches. Ancient stones and sculpted elements were reused during the restoration from 1927 to 1932. The bell tower, completely rebuilt, has housed four bells since November 15, 1931. Inside, the vaults are ribbed, the keystones bear coats of arms, and the pillars are without capitals. The choir and apsidal chapel screens have been reconstructed, as well as the three altars and liturgical furnishings (baptismal font, pulpit, etc.). A sculpted group representing Saint Fursy in bishop’s robes with his oxen, in gilded wood, dates from the late 17C to early 18C. The 17C altarpiece of the high altar is composed of two registers. The lower register is divided into three sections separated by columns, with a painting of the Baptism of Christ in the center, flanked by statues of Saint Peter on the left and Saint Paul on the right. A statue of Saint John the Baptist has been placed in a niche in the upper register. I passed by for one picture but will give you more for a complete post,
The 17C altarpiece of the high altar is composed of two registers. The lower register is divided into three sections separated by columns, with a painting of the Baptism of Christ in the center, flanked by statues of Saint Peter on the left and Saint Paul on the right. In the upper register, a statue of Saint John the Baptist is placed in a niche. In the aisle, the 17C altarpiece of the altar of the Virgin Mary consists of three compartments in its lower section. The central panel depicts the Assumption, framed by two statues of angels. Above the central panel, in a colonnaded niche, is a statue of the Virgin and Child, and on either side, a statue of a saint, one of whom is kneeling.
In the Sacred Heart Chapel, a large mural dated 1601 survived the destruction. It is entitled La bonne mort or the good death, and depicts a man in his death throes in a bed, where his good deeds are represented. This man stretches his arms towards the Virgin Mary, who appears in the sky. In the lower section, the demon watches for the soul about to leave the dying man’s body. To the right and left are depicted the kneeling donors, a bourgeois couple from Péronne, Jehan Roussel and his wife, Jacqueline Aubé. This work was restored in the 19C by Dufour and in 2013 by Laura Serafini and Antonella Trovisi.
In the 19C, the church possessed several paintings by the local painter Charles-Henri Michel: in 1847, the church council purchased his painting, The Compassion of the Virgin; in 1854, he painted The Baptism of Christ by Saint John for the church; and in 1859, the State purchased The Crucifixion from the painter and placed it on deposit in the church.
The gallery organ, destroyed during the Great War (WWI), was replaced in 1932 by an organ built by the Cavaillé-Coll company, The organ underwent a repair of its bellows in 1987, a restoration in 1994 and another in 2008, and further work in 2013. The choir organ was built by the Cavaillé-Coll company in the 1930s. There is a beautiful pulpit as well.
A bit of history tell us that the Church of Saint John the Baptist, consecrated in 1525, is the only one of the six churches that existed in the town before 1789 that still stands. Built on the site of a small chapel that already existed in 1101, the Church was constructed of limestone between 1509 and 1525; the bell tower was added in 1540. In 1632, a Carmelite confraternity was founded and based in the church. During the French revolution, the law stipulated that there should only be one parish church per town; thus, in Péronne, only the Church of Saint John the Baptist remained. Closed during the Reign of Terror, it was reopened for worship under the Directory in 1795. The restoration of the church was completed in 1829. During the siege of Péronne in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the church was partially destroyed by Prussian fire. The Great War or WWI proved fatal to the church ; from October 1914, the Germans occupied the church, and especially the bell tower, which became a key observation post for the front. At the end of January 1916, the church was temporarily converted into a prison. It held nearly 500 French prisoners captured on the front at Friesland. They quickly left the church to board cattle cars at Flamicourt and be taken prisoner to Germany. After the 1918 armistice, the people of Péronne found a ghost church: only the walls and one vault had survived. To facilitate its reconstruction, in January 1922, the town joined the Diocesan Cooperative of the Somme. Finally, on Sunday, July 10, 1932, the solemn blessing of the third Saint John’s Church was presided over by Bishop Lecomte of Amiens. The Church of Saint John the Baptist was also damaged during WWII. While the town of Péronne was once again more than 30% destroyed, the stained-glass windows of Saint-Jean were shattered by the explosion of an ammunition wagon in 1944. After the Liberation, the bell tower was damaged by shrapnel fired by the nazis upon the arrival of the Americans. The rest of the church remained intact. In 1948, the town joined a new diocesan cooperative to repair the damage.
The City of Péronne on the Church Saint Jean Baptiste : https://www.ville-peronne.fr/mes-loisirs/sortir-se-cultiver/patrimoine-curiosites/leglise-saint-jean-baptiste
The Local Haute Somme tourist office on the Church Saint Jean Batiste of Peronne: https://www.peronnehautesomme-tourisme.com/patrimoine-culturel/leglise-saint-jean-baptiste/
The Somme dept 80 tourist office on the Church Saint Jean Batiste : https://www.somme-tourisme.com/en/activite/leglise-saint-jean-baptiste/
The Hauts de France region tourist office on the Church Saint Jean Batiste : https://www.tourisme-en-hautsdefrance.com/offres/leglise-saint-jean-baptiste-peronne-fr-5394316/
There you go folks , a bit on the nice city of the north , all worth it for this wonderful town of history, architecture, and beauty, pleasant trip by car is best me think but you know I am the road warrior lol! Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Church Saint Jean Batiste of Péronne !! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health ,and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 