Eglise Saint-Martin of Baume-les-Dames (Baume-les-Dames, France)
Eglise Saint-Martin of Baume-les-Dames
The Saint-Martin church of Baume-les-Dames is a church located in Baume-les-Dames in the French department of Doubs in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.
The St. Martin Church was built for the first time in the IX-th century. Martin was a soldier of the imperial guard of Amiens. He was called out one day by a poor man, and in a fraternal gesture, he gave him half of his coat. From then on, Saint Martin was baptized and led the life of a hermit. The church was placed under the patronage of Saint Martin, because he had gone to Baume-les-Dames and because of his generous gesture.
The church was rebuilt between 1617 and 1621 by the architects Perrin and Roussel. The bell tower, first built in 1738, was rebuilt between 1825 and 1828 according to the plans of the architect Pierre Marnotte (as well as the facade of the church and the interior gallery). Originally, the bell tower had a dome and a lantern, which peaked at 68 m, but on July 14, 1920, following an accident, the tower caught fire. The tower only rises to 38 m and, the dome not having been rebuilt, it remains flat, called a “ roof terrace ”.
The Saint-Martin church has been registered as a historical monument since January 18, 1939.