Malzy Église Sainte-Aldegonde
Église Sainte-Aldegonde Malzy
Where to find this church
Church Information
Église Sainte-Aldegonde is located in Malzy, a commune with 200 inhabitants about 8 km east of the town of Guise in the Département Aisne in the région Hauts-de-France.
The church is open
The belltower of this church was listed as a historical monument in 1927
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Visiting Église Sainte-Aldegonde
The impressive church of Malzy is dedicated to Aldegundis, a regional saint who lived in the 7th century and founded the monastery of Maubeuge.
Like so many fortified churches in the region, it is built of brick, with the nave having a stone foundation.
What is unusual about this church is that the keep with the two mighty towers attached to the head end and pierced by embrasures is not above the entrance, but above the chancel.
This feature is shared by Sainte-Aldegonde with some of its neighbours in the Oise valley, such as the church at Englancourt. It is considerably higher than the nave, and is the only fortified part of the church. On the upper floor is the defence room.
Dates engraved on the roof truss of the chancel (1663) and built into the wall of the nave (1680) in the form of glazed tiles testify to restoration work carried out at the time of the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), which ushered in a brief period of peace between France and Spain.
