In 582, Bishop Gallomagne brought to Troyes the relics of Nizier, primate of Lyon, who died in 573 and was highly venerated in the region. He moved relics to the church of Saint-Maur, built in the late 5th century and renamed Saint-Nizier.
The current church dates from the 16th century, with its square tower completed around 1619. One of the bells seen at the top of the tower is the only vestige of the Porte Saint Jacques (now rue Kléber), one of the city's oldest fortified gates, destroyed in 1832.
The remarkable glazed tile roof evokes the Burgundian style.Inside, the church's Gothic aisles are of an impressive size and clarity. The stained glass windows, an exceptional collection by the Trojan School, illustrate subjects from the Old and New Testaments, as well as Trojan history and legends. Several anonymous sculptures date from the early Renaissance.
Nearby, you'll find a number of restored 16th-century half-timbered houses, including the Maison du Dauphin, one of the oldest in Troyes.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.