Collégiale Notre-Dame du Puy-Notre-Dame

Le Puy-Notre-Dame

On its hill overlooking the Saumur vineyards, the collegiate church of Le Puy-Notre-Dame is one of the finest vessels of Angevin Gothic: a hall church of the first half of the 13th century, its three naves of equal height inspired by the cathedral of Saint-Pierre in Poitiers. Between 1077 and 1123, William IX of Aquitaine, the troubadour duke, had granted the original church to the abbey of Saint-Jean de Montierneuf; and it is to this same duke that tradition attributes the bringing back from crusade of a celebrated relic, the girdle of the Virgin, documented from 1391. Its fame drew pilgrim kings: Saint Louis, Louis XI — who raised the church to collegiate status in 1481, a foundation approved by Pope Sixtus IV and then confirmed by Alexander VI in 1493 — and Louis XIII. The relic, reputed to favour childbirth, is said to have been called upon for Queen Anne of Austria before the long-awaited birth of Louis XIV. Hidden away during the Wars of Religion, the holy girdle is still kept at Le Puy, where a pilgrimage is being revived today. The choir houses twenty-eight carved oak stalls of the 16th century and a painting by Jean Boucher. The building has been listed as a monument historique since 1862.

Getting there : In the heart of the village of Le Puy-Notre-Dame, among the Saumur vineyards; church open to visitors

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

Ambient sound