St. Martin's Church, Montmédy

The Saint-Martin de Montmédy church is the church of the Saint-Martin parish located in the upper town of Montmédy.

Montmédy is a small town in the north-east of France, in the Lorraine region, in the Meuse department and a few steps away from the French-Belgian border. It is in the upper town of Montmédy that the parish church of Saint-Martin is located. This part of the city, on its rocky peak, is surrounded by a fortified enclosure. These fortifications are due to Charles V, who, in 1545, wanted to make this place a base of resistance against the kingdom of France. Under siege, the city finally surrendered to the French in 1657. Vauban then undertook the defensive improvement in the second half of the 17th century, making the enclosure one of the most important in the northeast. It is understandable then that the architecture inside the fortifications is largely military.

From the top of its rock, the Saint-Martin church and its two square towers can be seen for miles around. When you cross the bridge leading to the upper town, you almost come face to face with the building. Its imposing architecture dominates the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville. As its name indicates, in the 17th century, the town hall and the sub-prefecture were located in this area, both of which were destroyed during the bombings of September 5, 1870.

The present church was built between 1753 and 1756 on the site of a smaller building. Despite the various restorations, this church has kept much of its original state. It is classified as a heritage site.