In the North, village mayors to the rescue of their bell tower | EUROtoday

Put the church again in the midst of the village. In Oost-Cappel, within the North, close to Dunkirk, the expression actually displays the scenario. A stone’s throw from the city corridor, the non secular constructing planted in the midst of the cemetery and surrounded by graves stands out with its singular structure, as if the stays of two buildings had been assembled. On one aspect, the genuine bricks relationship from the twelfth^e century yellowed by time; on the opposite, purple bricks, more moderen in look, with clear joints, an indication of partial reconstruction after a hearth, on the finish of the seventeenth century^e century.

Since December 2024, the Saint-Nicolas church has as soon as once more been beneath building. Striped shirt and pink October pin on the lapel of her blue go well with jacket, Stéphanie Porreye, 52, elected mayor (with out label) in 2020 of this village of 480 inhabitants, made the restoration of the church the precedence of his first mandate. The constructing had closed its doorways a 12 months earlier, as a safety measure, resulting from its deterioration.

“During the final burial ceremony, plaster was falling on individuals. It was raining contained in the church, water seeping via the roof. It was now not potential. » But embarking on such a mission will not be a straightforward process. Oost-Cappel has an annual finances of 300,000 euros when the mission was estimated at 1.5 million euros. Since the legislation of 1905, the upkeep of church buildings constructed earlier than this date has been the duty of the municipalities.

Only heritage constructing

As the municipal elections of March 2026 method, the query of heritage restoration in rural villages represents a significant concern and problem for municipalities with usually restricted budgets. Churches determine prominently on this heritage to be preserved; almost 40,000 have been recorded in France in 2025.

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