From Carnac’s prehistoric standing stones to Gustave Eiffel’s iconic Parisian tower, the Roman arenas of Provence to the flamboyant chateaux of the Loire Valley, France is full of historic websites that deliver the previous zinging vividly into the current. And with the reopening of Notre Dame de Paris in December 2024, there’s no higher place to start out this new sequence on time journey than with France’s imposing and assorted locations of worship. Gillian Thornton seems on the sacred structure of France…
Step again in time – the sacred structure of France
No non secular beliefs of any variety are wanted to understand the monumental cathedrals, intimate chapels, and fortified church buildings which have been the hub of group life throughout the centuries. Some carry UNESCO World Heritage Standing, however all are testomony to the talents and dedication of architects, stonemasons, and labourers.
Who have been the lads who erected these huge towers with solely medieval know-how; carved intricate stonework excessive above the bottom; and created dazzling stained glass home windows in jewel colors? Centuries on, we are able to solely marvel and look on in awe at their handiwork.
Cathedrals and stained glass
The world watched in horror on 15 April 2019 when hearth broke out within the roof house of Notre-Dame de Paris, destroying the spire and burning by way of the roof timbers. It’s now fantastically restored, and Paris has different vital church buildings too. Nearly each French king from the tenth to the 19th century is buried on the Basilica-Cathedral of Saint-Denis, one of many earliest examples of Gothic structure. However while royal funerals happened in Paris, coronations have been celebrated at Reims Cathedral within the coronary heart of Champagne, a jewel of Gothic artwork the place Clovis, King of the Franks, was baptized in 498.
Reims Cathedral is dwelling to 2,303 statues and a few excellent stained-glass home windows, the medieval method of bringing Biblical tales to a inhabitants that principally couldn’t learn. Uncover the talents of the artisans on the Stained Glass Centre in Troyes and the Worldwide Stained Glass Centre in Chartres earlier than admiring their work within the cities’ church buildings. And for a up to date slant, don’t miss the rainbow of glass panels set within the concrete tower of the Church of Saint Joseph in Le Havre.
With their towers and spires, flying buttresses and carved facades, Gothic cathedrals grace many northern French cities together with Amiens and Bourges, Strasbourg and Laon. However head south and church buildings tackle a really completely different fashion. The Romanesque-Byzantine Cathedral of Saint-Entrance at Périgueux within the Dordogne is topped with 5 18th century cupolas, while the Cathedral of Sainte-Cécile at Albi in Occitanie has a special side once more.
Largest brick cathedral on the earth, Albi’s distinctive church was begun in 1282 and took 200 years to finish. It is usually the most important painted cathedral in Europe and the wow-factor ramps up much more as you step inside. Anticipate bible tales and geometric patterns created by Renaissance artists in sensible colors alongside intricate sculpted figures.
Historic and trendy
Albi could be the largest painted church, however smaller church buildings may pack a punch with their rainbow interiors. Amongst my favourites is the Basilica of Saint Julien de Brioude, largest Romanesque constructing in Auvergne with painted pillars and a mosaic flooring product of river pebbles. And in Decrease Auvergne, the abbey church of Saint-Astremoine is a masterpiece of twelfth century Romanesque artwork with its forest of painted columns.
Most abbey church buildings have been extra sombre, however they nonetheless have the ability to impress. Take the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud within the Loire Valley, final resting place of English Plantagenet monarchs Henry II and his spouse Eleanor of Aquitaine, their son Richard Coeur de Lion, and their daughter-in-law Isabelle of Angouleme, widow of King John. An unlimited advanced headed by an abbess with 4 priories for each women and men, Fontevraud has been repurposed as a centre for artwork and tradition, full with artwork gallery, atmospheric lodge and a Michelin-starred restaurant inside a bijou cloister.
Many French church buildings nonetheless boast a tranquil cloister, however it’s laborious to high the Romanesque splendour of Moissac Abbey in Tarn et Garonne. One of the crucial vital Benedictine monasteries within the Center Ages, Moissac is listed by UNESCO for its intricately carved capitals and tympanum. Additionally categorized for its sculptures is the ‘double decker’ cloister of Saint Trophime at Arles within the Rhône Valley; head to the higher storey for some distinctive ecclesiastical views.
In Normandy, Rouen’s magnificent cathedral – dwelling to the center of Richard Coeur de Lion – couldn’t be extra completely different from the Church of Saint Joan of Arc, accomplished in 1979 out there sq. the place the peasant woman from Lorraine burned on the stake in 1431. The trendy design evokes the ocean with its slate and copper scales, however inside, guests are handled to the sensible stained-glass home windows from the Church of Saint Vincent, destroyed by air raids in 1944.
For one more hanging instance of 20th century non secular structure, head east to Franche-Comté to go to Notre-Dame du Haut at Ronchamp, constructed by Le Corbusier in 1955 in a hilltop woodland clearing between the Vosges and the Jura. Asymmetrical in design, its curved partitions assist a roof formed like a crab shell.
Out of the peculiar
The environment at Ronchamp is tranquil within the excessive however faith didn’t all the time assure a quiet life. In northern France, on the borders between Champagne and Picardy, Hauts de France and Ardennes, the realm of Thiérache typically got here underneath assault within the 16th and 17th centuries, so locals fortified greater than 60 church buildings with gates, towers and casemates as locations of refuge. Try church buildings similar to Plomion, Parfondal and Montcornet in Aisne, Aouste and Rouvroy-sur-Audry in Ardennes.
Different French church buildings recall battle on a really worldwide scale. Proper throughout Northern France from the Channel coast to the Marne Valley and the Vosges, many battlefield websites from two world wars incorporate a chapel of remembrance. Every one is transferring in its personal method, however one which notably sticks in my reminiscence is Notre Dame de Lorette on the French nationwide cemetery close to Arras. Right here within the tiny chapel overlooking traces of headstones, a pill commemorates Francois Faber from Luxembourg. Winner of the 1909 Tour de France, Faber died in 1915 however his title lives on right here greater than a century later.
Different church buildings are memorable for the sheer fantastic thing about their location. On the Atlantic coast of Charente-Maritime within the walled village of Talmont-sur-Gironde, the 12th century church of Saint Radegonde watches over the most important estuary in Europe, nestled inside the ramparts that encircle the promontory. In-built 1284 on the orders of Edward I of England, Talmont is at this time categorized amongst Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and is a cease on a pilgrims’ path to Santiago de Compostela.
Neither is Saint Radegonde the one ecclesiastical constructing with a sea view. The small church of Saint-Valery at Varengeville-sur-Mer in Normandy not solely boasts a commanding place, but additionally an affiliation with main artists. Impressionist maestro Claude Monet painted right here and George Braque, a pioneer of Cubism, designed the church home windows. Braque died in Paris in 1963 however rests right here within the clifftop cemetery of Saint-Valery.
So, wherever you roam in France, take outing to analyze the native church buildings, nevertheless grand or humble. Inside their sacred partitions lies the historical past of a nation.
By Gillian Thornton, one of many UK’s main journey writers and an everyday author for The Good Life France Journal and web site.
Need extra France?
Uncover extra fabulous locations in France with our free journal The Good Life France
Love France? Have a hearken to our podcast – all the things you wish to learn about France and extra!
All rights reserved. This text will not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten (together with translated) or redistributed with out written permission
