A jewel box of gold, glass, and lead… Nestled in the heart of an authentic historical monument, the newly opened Cité du Vitrail (Stained Glass Museum) opens the doors to a religious and secular world made of versatile colors and changing gleams. Barely three years after its inauguration, one might have thought that this temple dedicated to the worship of light would rest on its laurels, satisfied with its own brilliance. Not so. Instead, it has chosen to shake things up by renewing part of its permanent exhibition.

In this new installation, some pieces have been removed, returning to the shadows and tranquility of their original setting, while other creations have made their appearance. In the sumptuous Stained Glass Gallery, we rediscover one of the jewels of last year's exhibition devoted to the cursed stained glass windows of Notre-Dame: the striking portrait of Saint Radegund, princess, queen, and nun, captured in the heart of the 1930s by the master glassmaker Jean Hébert-Stevens. The artist imagines the patron saint of Poitiers with a grave but serene expression, letting her crown fall at her feet. A classic subject, certainly, but one that is given a dynamic makeover by the bold geometry of Art Deco. Alongside it, the dreams of elsewhere of Jacques Simon, an alchemist of matter, come to life in agricultural scenes caressed by the wind and the monsoon.

In this immaculately white room, the Cité du Vitrail (Stained Glass Museum) contrasts, in an almost monastic simplicity, ancient know-how and contemporary uses: the stories of the life of Saint Augustine, Father of the Christian Church and theologian, unfold on miraculously preserved panels, while a fragment of Cistercian stained glass dating from the 13th century clashes with the modernity of a blown-glass piece designed by Gérard Garouste or with the strikingly topical work of the creator of black icons, Kehinde Wiley. With her chin raised and her gaze proud, her dark-skinned Madonna seems to call out to us: today, who are the saints, who are the role models, who are the masters?

Did you know? The City of Stained Glass hides a treasure: at the back of a small, darkened room lies the oldest known stained-glass window from Troyes, a 12th-century masterpiece, miraculously preserved.

Focus on… The Chapel
Let's end this visit with a flourish. The former chapel of the Hôtel-Dieu-le-Comte, transformed into a jewel of light, reveals a remarkable treasure: three exceptional stained-glass windows, born from the genius of the 16th-century glass masters of southern Champagne. Beneath the gentle alchemy of gray and silver-yellow, the figures come to life, freezing the act of prayer in a silent dialogue.

Stained Glass City
31 Quai des Comtes-de-Champagne, Troyes