Basilique Saint-Urbain de Troyes

Troyes

A few steps from the cathedral, the basilica of Saint-Urbain is a pope's filial gesture. In 1262, Jacques Pantaléon, son of a Troyes cobbler who had become pope as Urban IV, founded a collegiate church on the very site of his father's shop, financed by the papal treasury and entrusted to the architect Jean Langlois. Work on this jewel of Rayonnant Gothic got off to a turbulent start: between 1266 and 1268, the abbesses of Notre-Dame-aux-Nonnains, fearing the loss of their rights and parishioners, invaded the building site, tore off the doors, scattered the workmen's tools, overturned the altar and went so far as to manhandle a papal legate — which earned them excommunication. The church was not consecrated until 1389, its relics laid on nine altars before a great crowd. It then came through the terrible Troyes fire of 1524, and through the Revolution by serving as a granary, though its bells and brasses were melted down. Famous for its 13th-century stained glass of great beauty and its fifty or so gargoyles, it was raised to the rank of minor basilica by Paul VI in 1964, for the 700th anniversary of Urban IV's death, and by around 2011 was drawing some 60,000 visitors a year.

Getting there : Historic centre of Troyes, a few hundred metres from the cathedral; free admission.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound