Église Saint-Nicolas de Caen

Caen

William the Conqueror endowed Caen with two abbeys; that of the Men drew a new borough westward, the Bourg-l'Abbé, whose lands belonged to the parishes of the cathedral of Bayeux and then, by donation to Queen Matilda, to the abbess of Caen. To escape this tutelage the monks built their own parish church. The ducal charter of 1083 fixed its extent — five houses built during the dispute — and the building was completed in 1093, six years after the landing at Bari of the relics that sixty-two sailors had carried off from Myra. The choice of dedication is in no way accidental: it was the same Normans who then held southern Italy. The church is of a very bare Norman Romanesque, in the line of Cerisy and Saint-Georges-de-Boscherville: a narthex open to the outside, an extremely rare feature in Normandy, seven bays of nave, a lantern tower at the crossing, and a groin-vaulted choir that passes for the first Norman example of its kind. In use for worship until 1793, it then served as a military stable. Its old cemetery, abandoned to vegetation, has become a small listed wood.

Wikipédia — Église Saint-Nicolas de Caen ↗

Getting there : Rue Saint-Nicolas, at Caen, ten minutes' walk from the Abbaye aux Hommes. The exterior and the cemetery, whose gate opens on to paths and a few benches, are freely accessible; the interior, owned by the town and deconsecrated, remains closed to the public and opens only for certain events, notably the European Heritage Days.

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

Ambient sound