Église Notre-Dame du Pré

Built between the 11th and 12th centuries on the right bank of the Sarthe, in the Pré neighborhood, the church measures 58 meters by 10. When it was built, it was the third-largest religious building in the city, after the cathedral and La Couture. The nave alternates round and square piers with Romanesque capitals, and the choir opens onto an ambulatory with three apsidal chapels. A Gothic vault was added in the 15th century. The building was enlarged in the 19th century by architect Denis Darcy, a student of Viollet-le-Duc. Stained-glass windows and a Stations of the Cross by Max Ingrand, dating from 1950, can be seen inside.

A bit of history

The church was raised on the remains of an oratory that tradition attributes to Saint Julien, the first bishop of Le Mans. The monastery that preceded it dates back to the 6th century, and the current building was the abbey church of the Saint-Julien-du-Pré abbey, which housed Benedictine nuns. Its crypt long preserved the relics of Saint Julien, transferred to the cathedral in 1835. Listed as a historic monument as early as 1840, on the very first protection list established in France, it is among the oldest heritage recognitions in the city.