Notre Dame de Dijon Church – A Medieval Gem Not to Be Missed by Claire Blass

Although it is “just” a church and does not have the status of a cathedral, the Church of Notre Dame de Dijon was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 2015.
Indeed, the Notre Dame de Dijon church is considered a masterpiece of 13th-century Gothic architecture. It was built at record speed in about 20 years, between 1220 and 1240.

Between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Its west facade is particularly interesting, and is very uncharacteristic of a Gothic church. French: Although it has the characteristic three pointed arches leading into the church, the upper part consists of two ornate galleries that give the church a square appearance and does not have the traditional Gothic structure with the lines pointed upwards. So in fact the church is more reminiscent of a Venetian Renaissance structure than a French Gothic structure.

The galleries are decorated with an unusually large number of 51 stone figures that look like gargoyles. These are figures of humans, animals and monsters, and their function is to ward off and scare away evil spirits and to guard the building. However, in the church of Notre Dame de Dijon, these figures do not fulfill the additional traditional function of gargoyles as eaves. This is because the vast majority of them are “dummy gargoyles” and are there solely for decoration. Therefore, in architectural terms, they are called “grotesques” and not gargoyles.

These are not the original grotesques, as they were destroyed after the church was built after a fatal accident. According to the sources, a moneylender came to the church to get married and while he was standing in the churchyard, a statue of…a moneylender… broke free from the building, fell on his head and killed him. As a result, and out of superstition and fear, the city’s Panzers ordered the grotesques to be demolished, and only 600 years later, towards the end of the 19th century, during renovations of the church, was it decided to restore the frightening figures.

The tympanums (triangular stone lintels above the entrance gates) of the three church gates were originally sculpted with scenes depicting the Adoration of the Magi, the Coronation of Mary, and the Hill of Golgotha, but unfortunately these were completely destroyed in 1794 after the Revolution and have not been restored.

The family of robots that “work” in the church

Another unique sight in the church is the JAQUEMART. What is JACQUEMART? It is an artistic automaton of a figure sculpted in wood or metal, which indicates the hours by striking the bell with a hammer. The origin of the word is unclear. Some believe that the origin comes from the Latin word JACCOMARCHIARDUS, which was the nickname of the bell keepers who wore JAQUE (in German JACKE = coat), which was actually the flexible armor worn by the knights. Another belief is that the word comes from the combination of the words JACQUES and MARTEAU (hammer)…

Philippe was delighted with this marvel that automatically marked the round hour by striking a bell! And upon his return to Dijon, the JACQUEMART was placed on the bell tower of the Notre Dame church.

In the 17th century, the people of Dijon felt sorry for JACQUEMART being there alone. They thought he needed a woman to help him with his work…and so in 1651 his wife was added and since then there has been an equal division between the husband and wife, with each ringing the bell every hour alternately. The people of Dijon decided to call the woman JAQUELINE.

And is it true that an average family also has children? So in 1714, they decided to add 2 children, a son and a daughter, who would be responsible for marking the half hour and quarter hour, because they were already looking for more accuracy in times and were not satisfied with round hours... The children, surprisingly, are named JACQUELINET and JACQUELINETTE.

Another small curiosity in this church is found on its north wall on a street called RUE DE LA CHOUETTE: a small, shiny statue of an owl. Is the street named after the statue or is the statue named after the street? It is unknown, but in any case, the owl is the symbol of the city of Dijon, and there is a superstition that stroking the statue – only with the left hand! – will bring good luck…

Information for travelers who want to visit Notre Dame de Dijon

I highly recommend that anyone traveling to the special Dijon not miss this unique church! If you decide to accept my recommendation, here is all the information you need to visit the place.

Church address

2 Place Notre Dame

Opening Hours

The church is open to the general public every day from 08:00 AM to 18:00 PM.

What else can you see in the area?

• Palace of the Ducs of Dijon (Address: 1 Rue Rameau) – a 4-minute walk from the church.
• Dijon Museum of Fine Arts – located near the Ducal Palace.
• La Moutarderie Edmond Fallot (Address: 16 Rue de la Chouette) – factory store of one of Dijon's oldest mustard manufacturers (since 1840).

If you are traveling in the Burgundy region and want to discover more interesting places, we recommend that you visitBurgundy leaf Site.

A few words about Claire Blass

Claire has been a tour guide for 26 years specializing in France. She has lived inParis 3 years and speaks French fluently. Graduate of the Department of History at Tel Aviv University.