Saint-Sulpice-de-Favières - Saint-Sulpice

A first church may have existed around 1100. Some parts of a church erected around 1170 still exist. This was already dedicated to Saint Sulpitius the Pious ("Sulpice le Pieux"), chaplain on the court of Clotaire II, King of the Franks, and later Bishop of Bourges. As the church kept relics of Saint-Sulpice, this was a place for many pilgrims from the very beginning.

The construction of the High Gothic church seen today began around 1260. It is for sure the work of an experienced architect, who even may have had ties to the royal court, as the building was financed by Louis IX (aka "Saint Louis") and the Bishopric of Paris. By promoting the pilgrimage to this church, Louis IX from the House of Capet tracked his roots over six centuries back to Merovingian Clotaire II.

This church was built during the "siècle d’or de St. Louis", when the Kingdom of France was politically and economically at its height in Europe.

Of course, such a "royal symbol" had to suffer in the centuries to come. In 1652, during the civil wars ("Fronde"), the church was set on fire. The roof burnt down and the vaultings over four bays collapsed. During the French Revolution the church was severely damaged and later converted into a "Temple of Reason".

The vandals of the Revolution made a great effort, to destroy the western facade. Seen here is the central tympanum (the other two are worse).
Either the vandals only had a short ladder, as they only smashed the two lower tiers, or the top tier is the result of a 19th century restoration. This once was the "Last Judgement". What still can be seen is the "Mouth of Hell" (left). The "Weighing of the Souls" (center) and all other details are completely destroyed.