A fire broke out on the morning of October 3 in the nave of the Saint-Hilaire church in Poitiers. Although the structure of the medieval building is intact, several works of art have been damaged. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but authorities believe it was an act of deliberate damage.
The flames, which spread around 9 a.m., were quickly extinguished by the twenty firefighters deployed on site, who then carried out smoke extraction operations throughout the day. The main hearth was located in the nave, possibly at the level of the massive wooden altar.
Although the extent of the damage is not yet known, the prefect of Vienne, Jean-Marie Girier, specified that the fire “caused no casualties, did not affect the structure of the building or the roof, but caused considerable material damage”mentioning a “deterioration of works of art” without further precision. The city’s heritage services and the DRAC visited the site to examine the state of the works and objects of the church, which notably houses two historic organs, paintings and statues from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as the relics of Saint Hilary in his crypt.
The building will remain closed until further notice, and the Vienne prefecture has declared that it is opening an investigation for deliberate damage in view of the first findings made on site. The fire is not an isolated case: in recent months, several holy places in the city have been targeted. Last May, the Sainte-Thérèse church was set on fire and its statue of the Virgin decapitated, while the following month, the Saint-Jean-de-Montierneuf abbey was hit by acts of vandalism.
The Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand church in Poitiers, one of the oldest in the city, stands on the presumed site of the tomb of Saint Hilaire, first bishop of Poitiers, who died in the 4th century. Consecrated in 1049, devastated during the Revolution, then rebuilt in the 19th century, it still retains traces of its painted and sculpted decoration from the 11th century. Since 1998, the church has been listed by UNESCO as a stopover on the roads to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle.
