Eglise Saint-Nicolas

The foundation of the village of Signy dates back to the year 1217. The religious building was burned in 1636 by the Spanish. This church was rebuilt in 1680 following the Spanish incursions, as evidenced by three dates: 1680, with wrought iron anchors on the tower; 1684, at the keystone of the first bay of the nave; 1686, on the bretèche (discreet defensive balcony) at the bedside. It has a Latin cross plan, 36 meters long, 10,66 meters wide, 12 meters high under the vault, without aisles. The enormous walls – 3 meters thick at the base of the tower, one meter at the nave and transept – are made of quartz schist, except for the openings whose straight feet are made of Bossus limestone. Defense elements are still visible: a blocked machicolation above the portal; two watchtowers (protruding turrets) ten meters from the ground on the porch tower, supported by beautiful molded white stone bases; two small watchtowers at each end of the transept; traces of bretèche above berries. Note the beautiful, finely matched brick cornices. Houses on the square were also rebuilt during this period as proven by the vintages displayed: 1666, 1675…