Pope Urban IV founded this collegiate church in 1262 and dedicated it to Saint Urban, his patron saint. Construction probably began in 1263, working from east to west, and Jean Langlois was given funds by the pope for the work. The choir and transept rose between 1264 and 1266, until a fire in 1266 destroyed the wooden parts of the walls and roof.
The article calls it a classic example of late thirteenth-century French Gothic. The plan is compact, with a three-bay nave, a transept that does not project, and no triforium. Perforated gables and openwork flying buttresses give the exterior its lacelike look, and the article repeats the nickname "Parthenon of Champagne."
Work stopped late in the thirteenth century and resumed late in the fourteenth. The tower was completed in 1630, and Paul Selmersheim finished the upper nave between 1890 and 1905. It has been a listed historic monument since 1840.
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