Église Notre-Dame la Grande, Poitiers

About

Notre-Dame la Grande is a Roman Catholic church in Poitiers, France. Having a double status, collegial and parochial, it forms part of the Catholic diocese of Poitiers. The west front endorsed with statuary is recognized as a masterpiece of Romanesque religious art. The walls inside the church are painted.

The district was already popular in Roman times. The ancient vestiges of a brick and rectangular stone construction can be located near the gutter on the north wall of the current church. The church is mentioned in the 10th century, under the name of "Sancta Maria Maior", referring to the Romanesque church of the same name. Its position next to the Palace of the Counts of Poitou-Dukes of Aquitaine (current law courts of Poitiers), is definitely significant as from the political point of view, the bishops of Poitiers were barons of Poitou. The whole of the building was rebuilt in the second half of the 11th century, in the period of High Romanesque, and inaugurated in 1086 by the future Pope Urban II. The plan of the church is composed of a central nave with wings according to a frequent plan in Romanesque architecture of Poitou. The interior has...