Saint-Nicolas

Sunday : 11 am

A strategic site on the limits of Artois and Picardy, the town was frequently destroyed during its long history. The present church, rebuilt in 1924, is the fourth on the foundations of the previous churches and some of their remains are to be found within.

Entirely destroyed during the First World War, the church of St. Nicolas is not only a church of the reconstruction among others, but it shows, through the style that was chosen, the various architectural debates of the period between the two wars.
Thanks to the talent of the architect Eugene Bidart, neither a contemporary modern style building, nor an identically rebuilt style was chosen, but an innovating re-interpretation of the former flamboyant gothic baroque (16th and 17th century). It followed the same plan as the previous church but used contemporary materials (reinforced concrete) and traditional materials (white stone and red brick).

Inside, some elements of the old building have been preserved, among which is the statue of Our Lady of Mercy, dating from the 15th century, a classified Historical Monument. It has survived  fires, the French Revolution and two world wars, as have two carved panels placed in the sanctuary which come from the vestments cupboard of the old church (14th to 18th century) and found in the ruins in 1917.
Among contemporary works can be admired the work of two local artists, Daniel and Lucien Langlet, who produced the stained glass windows of the nave, and the « Way of the Cross » for which local inhabitants posed.