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Saint-Etienne-le-Vieux Church

General Information

Name in local language: Église Saint-Etienne-le-Vieux
Beginning of works: 11th century
Completion: 16th century
Status: in use

Project Type

Function / usage: Church
Material: Masonry structure
Architectural style: Gothic

Awards and Distinctions

Location

Location: , , ,
Address: rue Arcisse-de-Caumont
Coordinates: 49° 10' 52" N    0° 22' 9" W
Show coordinates on a map

Technical Information

Dimensions

tower height 87 m

Excerpt from Wikipedia

The Church of Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux ("Old Saint Stephen's") is a former Roman Catholic church, today partly ruined, located in the old city of Caen, Calvados, France. It is not to be confused with the nearby Church of Saint-Étienne, the former church of the Abbaye aux Hommes. This church has been classified as a monument historique since August 22, 1903.

History

The church was probably founded during the 10th century when the city of Caen began ist first significant growth. It is mentioned for the first time in the charters granted by William the Conqueror to the two abbeys of Caen under the name of sanctus Stephanus Vetus in around 1067. The qualifier "old" distinguishes it from the church of the Abbey of Saint-Étienne, Caen (the Abbaye aux Hommes), under construction from the 11th century.

Because of ist exposed position along the ramparts of the city, the church was badly damaged during the Hundred Years' War, particularly during the Siege of Caen in 1417. It was reconstructed during and after the English occupation. The octagonal lantern tower dates from this time.

The parish was part of the deanery of Caen in the former diocese of Bayeux.

The church was decommissioned in 1793, and not reinstated for worship in 1802, when the former abbey church took over the role of parish church. Poorly maintained, the church soon began to fall into ruin. It was registered in 1840 as a monument historique, but closed to the public in 1844 because of ist state of decay. Threatened with demolition, it was saved at the very last minute thanks to the action of Arcisse de Caumont and Antoine Charma. The Society of Antiquaries of Normandy envisaged using the church for the installation of ist collections, but the Museum of the Antiquaries of Normandy (Musée des antiquaires de Normandie) was finally housed in the former Collège du Mont located nearby. The city authorities used the church to store architectural fragments until their transfer to the museum in 1926.

In 1944, it was hit by a shell aimed at a column of German tanks which was parked in the vicinity. The nave was largely destroyed. Since that time the church has not been the object of restoration work and in ist state of disrepair is not open to the public.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Church of Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux" and modified on June 3, 2020 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.

Participants

Currently there is no information available about persons or companies having participated in this project.

Relevant Web Sites

  • About this
    data sheet
  • Structure-ID
    20018469
  • Published on:
    10/11/2005
  • Last updated on:
    25/12/2023
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