Église Notre-Dame la Grande, Poitiers in Poitiers

A very ancient church, medium sized but contains a lot of history with beautiful stained glass and painted ceilings. Located in the heart of the old Poitiers village. Very quaint.

Cool!

A truly inspiring and profoundly spiritual place. Fascinating for me because I discovered a connection between here and the 12thC Ardmore Cathedral in Co. Waterford in Ireland - near where I live. Adam and Eve.

The church is situated in the center of the square with the population of Poitiers of 78,000

Tranquil and calm, silence is apt to meditate. Beautiful columns.

Beautiful

11th century roman cathedral

Simply beautiful Notre-Dame-la-Grande with 11th century church with painted columns and because it’s Saturday when I went here, a nice farmers market in the vicinity of the church!

Very interesting in center ville

Always love to visit this testament to peoples creativity.Capture it in candlelight or long exposure, just... sshhh...

Great historical place with beautiful architecture find.

Beautiful painted columns around the altar. Worth visiting

Love the fact that in these days, you can rate a church with four stars 😂😂😂

Wonderful pace dont miss it.

This is a jewel of an old church dating back to the eleventh century, the beautifully painted columns and interior walls are quite stunning.

Breathtakingly grand, emotional, majestic. Its sculptures on the west facade are glorious Romanesque figures and old and new testament tales.

One of the best examples of romane Church architecture, worth seeing during the illumination bringing colours back to the front of the church

Visited this church as part of the TraverséesKimsooja series of events in Poitiers. Beautiful Romanesque structure inside and out, made extra special by Kimsoojas Solarescope illuminations and by the organ player practicing in the choir loft.

Brilliant, if you love the 12th century, which I do.

Quite dark, ancient stonework. Interesting history.

Very interesting ancient church

Still standing. Sad. Hope to see it when repairs are completed

Peaceful inside and is beautiful!

A really unique building in the sense that its representative of a local architectural style that is quite rare, glad its being well preserved

Exquisite calm music inside the church

One of the best cathedral I visited among almost one hundred!

Superb church in the middle of Poitiers. Look out for the painted columns inside the church. Also, some excellent stained glass windows (described by my 17 year old daughter as "quite beautiful!").The exterior is lit up briefly at night to show how it would have been painted centuries ago. Worth a look and free of course.

A beautiful church with a very fine portico.

Impressive, beautiful church in the heart of Poitiers

Amazing roman style church, must see!

Nice church but to be honest....ive seen nicer ones.

Beautiful church and old. Center of Poitiers and not many tourist.

Lovely place to go so any shops and restaurants. And everyone is so plesent.

Wonderful interior

There’s a great deal of history behind this church and the front tells great stories about it

One of the best historical and religious monuments in poitiers and aquitane region

Warm, ancient, mystical place

We loved it here - stunning columns, facade... You just have to come here if you travel around!

Its a beautiful church on the inside and it has so much history

When in Poitiers - you must visit this gem!

I live nearby, and it never stops to amaze me.

It’s a beautiful church, I would recommend you visit it.

The church was amusing and breath-taking. It is completely different from any other religious building.

An absolute jewel. Full of colour and history. The congregation were welcoming and the mass was special.

Along with Eglise Sainte Radegonde, it is one of the rare churches that has colorful patterns on its interior facade. A true gem in France.

very beautiful Romanesque parish/collegiale church. Lovely stained glass and painted columns

Idelna katedra. Very Beatiful

Beautifully preserved Roman basilica with 3 naves and original wall paintings.

The church is located in a square that sits high in the townscape, one comes upon it unawares, and is immediately struck by the beauty of its intricately carved façade. It is the most beautiful example of Romanesque architecture, Ive ever seen. The sensitive use of subdued lighting on the the jewel like colors of the sanctuary draw the visitor so completely into the past, one cant help feel the power this place once held for the faithful. The feeling of the sacred feminine is so strongly evidenced here one wonders what vision inspired its architect.

The Église Notre-Dame-la-Grande in Poitiers is a magnificent Romanesque-Byzantine church from the 11th and 12th centuries. Its wide facade is flanked by pinecone-shaped towers and covered in carvings of saints and biblical scenes.The west front of Notre-Dame-la-Grande (c.1150is one of the finest Romanesque facades in France. It is flanked by turrets topped with conical spires, which, along with the rich sculpture, are the hallmarks of Poitou Romanesque architecture.The sculpture of the west front is divided into three tiers. The middle and top tiers are a jumbled array of carved saints, prophets, creatures and foliage. The bottom tier tells the story of Jesus from right to left, based on The Drama of the Prophets, a fifth-century sermon. From left to the right, the carvings depict:In the middle tier, the word of God is spread by the Twelve Apostles (eight seated below; four standing aboveand two local bishop-saints on either end: Hilary and Martin. Only a few apostles still have distinguishable faces; among them is St. Peter, with keys in his left hand. The top tier features a richly-carved oval medallion of Christ in Glory (now headless), surmounted by the sun and moon and surrounded by the symbols of the Four Evangelists. There are interesting carvings of creatures and foliage in thearches at eye-level, too.The interior consists of a dark, barrel-vaulted nave with no clerestory, narrower side aisles, a transept crossing topped with a tower, a small choir, and a groin-vaulted ambulatory with radiating chapels. A faded 12th-century fresco survives on the choir vault. The rest of the murals, which cover the nave columns and other surfaces with garish geometrical designs, date from the 19th century. There is only one narrative capital, which depicts the Ascension of Christ with angels.