The Church Saint Julien of Tours !!!

Posted in France

This was again on my road warrior trails of the Touraine and one beautiful architecturally and historical jewel that is Tours . Again, searching my cd rom vaults found me these pictures that should be in my blog for you and me. For info, the City of Tours i in the Indre-et-Loire dept 37 of Centre-Val-de-Loire region of my belle France, Therefore, let me tell you about the Church Saint Julien of Tours !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I

The Church Saint-Julien is the abbey church of a former Benedictine abbey whose origins date back to the 6C; it is primarily built in the 13C. It is bordered by Rue Nationale, Place Anatole-France, and Square Prosper-Mérimée. In the second half of the 11C, the bell tower-porch, which provides access to the current church, most likely dates from this phase of reconstruction. In its current configuration, the bell tower-porch is 25 meters high. The bas-reliefs on the capitals of the porch date from the 19C. They were installed during the 1960 restoration.

The new nave of the abbey Church Saint Julien was rebuilt between 1243 and 1259. From then on, the church took on the general form we know today: a bell tower-porch giving access to a nave flanked by single side aisles, 10 meters wide and 21 meters high; a transept with a single bay outside the nave’s side aisles; a chancel with four side aisles, the same width as the transept, 30 meters; and a flat apse at the end of the chancel, whose unusual architecture is difficult to explain. Around 1300, the apse was rebuilt with the addition of two apsidal chapels extending from the outer side aisles of the choir; these would be reconstructed in the 16C. Some of the stained-glass windows that adorn the nave and chancel replaced those created in the 19C, which were destroyed during WWII. The cellars are occupied by the Touraine Wine Museum. The Museum of the Guilds is housed in the former clerics’ dormitory. This dormitory, rebuilt in the 16C, occupied the floor above the chapter house, with an angled extension in the north wing of the cloister.

A bit of history I like tell us that from the late 6C to the 9C, an abbey was built and developed around the square tower (still visible today). It had a cloister, cellars , and a library. For five centuries, it underwent repeated destruction and reconstruction. In 853, the abbey was destroyed by the Normans; it was rebuilt in the 10C and consecrated in 1084. During the French revolution, the church was sold and used as a stable and coach house.The church was converted in 1816 into a post house on the lines from Paris and Le Mans. Large openings were made in the walls of the nave, which served as a garage, to allow the passage of stagecoaches, as the tower porch was too narrow; the apsidal chapels of the choir were converted into stables; and the bell tower was inhabited. In 1828, part of the buildings that enclosed the cloister to the north was demolished to make way for the construction of the Museum of Natural History and the School of Fine Arts, a counterpart to the new Town Hall built in 1777 on the other side of Rue Neuve. During this period,the church was bought back by the State on July 10, 1846. The Church Saint Julien was reopened for worship in 1858 and became the parish church. Bombings during WWII devastated a large part of Tours’ city center, including the city entrance where the church is located. Miraculously, the Church Saint-Julien remained standing and the damage was repaired. The destroyed abbey, however, was replaced by the Square Prosper-Mérimée.

The Parrish St Maurice of the Cathedral of Tours on the Church : https://www.paroisse-cathedrale-tours.fr/saint-julien

The City of Tours on its heritage : https://www.tours.fr/page-portail-tours-intense/tous-nos-sites/

The Tours tourist office on its heritage : https://www.tours-tourisme.fr/blog/vivre-la-ville/11-monuments-historiques-a-ne-pas-manquer-a-tours/

The Touraine Loire Valley tourist office on Tours: https://www.tourainevaldeloire.com/en/discover/our-destinations/touraine/tours-loire-valley/

There you go folks, another dandy City ,this isTours , of course lots more to see and enjoy this wonderful city of the Touraine. This was a nice walking tour of the City we enjoy on several occasions, and looking forward to be back, eventually, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Church Saint Julien of Tours !!! 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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