Basilica Saint-Maurice

Épinal, France

The Saint Maurice basilica of Épinal was built in the 11th century on the foundations of an older building. Romanesque style, it is remodeled and enlarged from the thirteenth, aisles being added on both sides of the nave. At this time also, the choir is rebuilt, and a new portal overlooking the city is built in the north wall of the nave.

First abbey dedicated to Saint Goëry whose relics with miraculous virtues are then the subject of pilgrimages, it is still in the thirteenth century that it becomes the seat of a chapter of canonesses and that it is dedicated to St. Mauritius.

Featuring a singular 30 m high belfry tower, its material, the pink sandstone of the Vosges, its mixture of styles (at the hinge between Romanesque and Gothic), its dimensions (the nave is 14 m high), its grandstands served by stairs in turrets visible from the outside, also amaze the visitor.

Inside still, we can admire a painting by Nicolas Bellot depicting the Passion (XVII), the necropolis where the old canonesses, reliquaries.

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Details

Founded: 11th century
Category: Religious sites in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Jean-Michel DEISS (4 months ago)
A beautiful building well presented with the redeveloped square. Very beautiful stained glass windows.
강순호 (7 months ago)
The history of Epinal village begins with its castle. Built in the 10th century under the orders of Thierry I (964-984), bishop of Metz, the castle presided over the road connecting Metz and Basel. At the end of the same century, the bishop founded a monastery and church beneath the castle. Around 983 he donated the relics of Saint Goëry. The church then had a dual function as an abbey church dedicated to Saint Goëry and a parish church dedicated to Saint Maurice. As the number of pilgrims to worship Saint Goëry increased, a new building was built around 1050, consecrated by Pope Leo IX. In the 13th century, Epinal became a thriving city thanks to pilgrimages and markets. The bourgeoisie rebuilt the church. The Romanesque style was transformed into Proto-Gothic style. This is the building we see today. The church of Saint-Maurice dates from the 13th century, but nevertheless has parts from the 11th century, such as the western tower and the frame of the nave. It has an interesting architectural feature: the transition from Romanesque to Gothic style. external The cathedral's apse, with its turrets known as Ladres towers erected in the 12th century, on the north and south turrets each has a staircase, giving access to the gatehouse from the transept. At the front is an 11th-century bell tower and a neo-Romanesque portal from the 1840s. The bourgeois portal on the north dates from the third quarter of the 13th century. The secular (nuns) entered the church through this beautiful Romanesque door (Lady's Gate) covered with a semicircular arch on the south side of the cathedral. nave The construction of the nave dates from 1210-1225, the first period of Gothic art. Consisting of six bays separated by massive piers, the building is 14 meters high, compared to 18 meters at the apse. The narrow windows still have a Romanesque style. Altar of Our Lady of Consolation and Relics The story goes back to 1671, when a logger discovered a small statue of the Virgin Mary resting in an oak tree in Jenneson Forest. The logger took it to the priests of Epinal, but the next day the statue was returned to its place in the oak tree! The large chapel contains the relics of Saint Goëry, bishop of Metz, who died in the 7th century. It attracted many pilgrims to seek treatment for Mal des ardents.
William Garofalo (14 months ago)
A well maintained church. Remarkably nice stained glass windows. Worth the visit.
Margarita Lokhova (2 years ago)
Too dark inside.
Alex Jilavyan (4 years ago)
God bless you
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Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.

The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).