ChurchVienne
Église Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand de Poitiers
Poitiers
Dimensions
unusual nave with seven aisles (34 m wide, 59 m long) — approximate position
Period
Essentially 11th–12th century (choir, transept and north tower), Flamboyant portal of 1474, major restoration 1855–1884
What stands there
the only nave in France with seven aisles
A stop on the Via Turonensis, this former collegiate church owes its unusual plan — three aisles on each side of the central nave — to successive rebuildings after a fire; its massive piers and galleries made it a model for pilgrimage architecture. Saint Hilary, bishop of Poitiers in the 4th century and Doctor of the Church, is buried here. The building underwent a thorough restoration between 1855 and 1884.
Getting there : Free admission, parish church
Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.
Ambient sound
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Nearby
- Palais des ducs d'Aquitaine, la grande salle d'AliénorLegendary castle · Poitiers · 0.4 km
- Le baptistère Saint-Jean de PoitiersChurch · Poitiers · 0.6 km
- Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Poitiers et le vitrail d'Henri II et d'AliénorCathedral · Poitiers · 0.7 km
- Église Sainte-Radegonde de PoitiersChurch · Poitiers · 1.2 km
- Abbaye Saint-Martin de LigugéMonastery / hospice · Ligugé · 6.9 km
- Abbaye Saint-Junien de Nouaillé-Maupertuis et le champ de la bataille de PoitiersMonastery / hospice · Nouaillé-Maupertuis · 9.8 km
This place in the great stories
- Saint Martin, or where the word “chapel” comes fromc. 316 or 336 - 8 November 397; continuous cult since the 5th century
- The Merovingians: the kings who slept among the saintsFrom the death of Childeric (481 or 482) to the deposition of Childeric III (751)…
- The Ways of St James: from the tomb in Galicia to the four routes of FranceTomb recognised c. 820-830; first known pilgrim (Godescalc of Le Puy) in 950-951; Book of…
- Eleanor and the Plantagenets: an empire from Bordeaux to Scotland (1137-1204)Marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII at Bordeaux on 25 July 1137; annulment at…
- Joan of Arc, from Domrémy to the pyre at Rouen1412-1456
In the same department
All places — Vienne (14).