The Church Saint Maurice of Chinon !!

Posted in Europe, France

I like to redo update these wonderful monuments in lovely Chinon, Let me tell you about the Church Saint Maurice of Chinon. The church is a marvel of architecture , history and know them is plenty for this road warrior traveler. Chinon is located in the Indre-et-Loire department, 37 in the Centre-Val de Loire region. 47 km from Tours, 30 km from Saumur, 80 km from Angers, 85 km from Poitiers, and 305 km from Paris, Also about 314 km (about 195 miles) from my house. We like to go on the D751 linked to Tours, which partly bypasses the city.

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There are so many monuments in Chinon, and of course, plenty of churches; I will pick some as my historically incline favorites. Let me tell you a bit about them, and hope you enjoy the tour. We took a ride by car as hilly roads and my Dad Elio on wheelchair would have been difficult if impossible. We stop each time we reach a church !

The Church  Saint-Maurice de Chinon is in the department of Indre-et-Loire.no. 37 of the Centre Val de Loire region of my belle France. The church is located along rue Haute-Saint-Maurice, on a terrace below it, below the Château de Chinon. It is located at Pl Saint Maurice and was rebuilt in the 12C ; gradually enlarged until the 16C. The lower nave was added in 1543. Romanesque bell tower. Gothic, Angevin style nave and choir, Renaissance aisle. Rich carved decoration inside. You can admire the figurative nice 19C stained-glass windows and from the 1950s in the aisle. It was built under Henry II of Plantagenets who later became King of England.

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The Church Saint Maurice was built replacing a 10C church. From the end of the 12C, it was extended by a choir and a chapel was added to the north. In the 15C the spire of the bell tower was built and it was to the south that a chapel was built and finally, a century later, an aisle was added along the south side of the nave. The nave, which retains some remains of the 10C church in its northern wall, is made up of three equal bays on a square plan. Its architecture with very domed vaults is characteristic of the so-called Western Gothic style and contrasts with the more complex style of its southern aisle. The bell tower,of the 12C nave, is supported at its base by strong buttresses. Each of its faces is lit by two floors of twin bays, except to the west where they are walled up.

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The original stained glass windows, destroyed by Nazis bombardments on the bridge over the Vienna river on August 29, 1944, are replaced by modern glazing. The church houses a statue of Joan of Arc, in 1900, representing a modest young woman, far from the representations of the flamboyant warrior. The Saint-Maurice Church must be the subject of a major restoration project. A project on hold for lack of funding,sadly.

The Parish of Chinon on the Saint Maurice Church: https://www.paroisse-chinon.fr/eglise-saint-maurice-37500-chinon.html

The City of Chinon and its heritage :https://www.ville-chinon.com/loisirs/tourisme-et-patrimoine/decouvrir-ma-ville/patrimoine-a-decouvrir

There you go folks, the nice historical and architecture of the Church of Saint Maurice of Chinon. This is wonderful ,splendid Chinon, a must to visit me think. We will be back for more soon. Again, hope you enjoy the post as I. And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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