01 January - 31 December
Mon 10.00 - 18.00
Tue 10.00 - 18.00
Wed 10.00 - 18.00
Thu 10.00 - 18.00
Fri 10.00 - 18.00
Sat 10.00 - 18.00
Sun 10.00 - 18.00
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church was built from 1858 to 1862 in the 13th century ogival style to replace a very simple small Romanesque church, built by the Bishop of Verdun from 1129 to 1131. It had relics of St. John the Baptist, St. Sebastian, St. Stephen, the first martyr, destroyed during the 1914-1918 bombardments. Its covered porch still houses the tombstone of Étienne III de Rosières, lord of La Croix-sur-Meuse.
The church was in ruins in 1918, as was 95% of the village, but the commune was able to be part of the villages adopted by the Gironde department and received war damage that allowed reconstruction.
The work was mainly carried out by Italian workers. The repair of the monuments of the Commune, the interior decorations of the church and the frescoes are the work of Professor Duillio Donzelli and his family in the 1920s. The admirable paintings are awaiting restoration. The stained glass windows of the church, totally destroyed, were replaced and signed by the glassmaker Janin de Nancy. The pulpit of the church, which had been saved in 1915 by Emile Goujon by bringing it to Benoît-de-Vaux, was put in its place at the 1918 armistice.
Around Saint-Mihiel, bell towers regularly stand out in the hills. Push open the doors of these churches to discover the treasures of the Sammiellois. Donzelli, Ligier Richier and others await you...