Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Gilles de Caen, dedicated to Gilles l'Ermite, is mentioned for the first time in an act dated between 1066 and 1082. Archaeological excavations (1986-1998) revealed an occupation of the site since the 8th century, with burials and remains of a first church of the 10th century. Founded at the time of Caen's formation in the Orne valley, it was located away from the urban fabric, on a plateau overlooking the valley. William the Conqueror and Mathilde of Flanders, founders of the abbey to the neighboring Ladies, assigned the church there for the burials of the poor. The parish, integrated into Bourg-l'Abbesse, extended over a vast territory but had few urban inhabitants.

From the 13th to the 18th century, the site housed a bell foundry. In 1862, the church was classified as a historical monument, but its 15th century choir was destroyed in 1863 to facilitate traffic. She lost her parish status in 1864 to the Trinity Abbey. The adjacent cemetery, considered too small in the 1780s, was moved in 1831 to a new blessed site that year. The architecture of the church blended Romanesque (nef of the 12th century) and Gothic (15th century choir, vaults of the lower side).

During the Battle of Caen in 1944, the church was almost completely destroyed by aerial bombardments. After the war, its remains were secured and the site was built into a public garden. The war damage financed the construction of the Saint Paul church north of the city. Today, only remains remain, bearing witness to its medieval history and modern destruction.

The western gate, attributed to architect Blaise Lepestre (XVI century), and the northern gate, more recent, marked its entrance. At its destruction, the church had eight spans, with foothills surmounted by pinnacles and ramps running the walls of the collaterals. His role in the community was both religious (parisse, burials) and artisanal (bell-founding), reflecting the importance of religious buildings in medieval and modern daily life.

Future

Destroyed in 1944, only remains were kept on the site built into a public garden.

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