Église Saint-Aquillin

The Saint-Aquilin church is a Catholic parish church located in Fontenay-en-Parisis, France. It is one of the most imposing churches in the whole of France, measuring 42 m in its axis, and reaching 44 m at the top of its spire. The southern wall of the south aisle still comes from a previous building of the end of the 11th century, and the base and the second floor of the bell tower of the second quarter of the 12th century are also Romanesque. The nave was rebuilt shortly afterwards in the third quarter of the 12th century. Its large non-molded arches, but nevertheless in tiers-point, still seem rather archaic, while the sculpture of the capitals already belongs to the primitive Gothic style. The unique framework of the second half of the 16th century unfortunately obstructs all but one of the high windows. The ambulatory choir was built in successive stages between about 1200 and 1260. Its straight bays have sexpartite ribbed vaults and a three-level elevation, but simple bays replace the triforium. Curiously, the large arches are different on the north and south sides. The apse has no straight sections, and is surrounded by an ambulatory of only three bays, with no radiating chapels: this is a layout without equivalent in its region. The Renaissance only brought an aedicule to the northwest of the church, intended as a baptismal chapel, and the external reconstruction of the ambulatory and the high windows of the apse. The building has been classified as a historical monument since 1886. It has only been restored externally.