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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint-Michel Basilica of Bordeaux, located in the south-west of France, is the second largest Catholic church in the city. Built between the 14th and 16th centuries, it embodies the flamboyant Gothic style. Its independent tower, 114 meters high, is the highest of the midday of France and the fourth of the Hexagon. Originally, the building replaced a parish church outside the walls of Bordeaux. Construction, begun around 1330, was slowed down by the Hundred Years War, plague and floods. The hall church, completed in 1430, was then enhanced to adopt a basilica structure.

In the 15th century, under the impulse of Louis XI, who placed the kingdom under the protection of Saint Michael, the works resumed with the master of work John Lebas and his sons. They built the bell tower between 1472 and 1492, at the site of an old mass grave. The arrow, often damaged by weather, was rebuilt in the 19th century by Paul Abadie. In 1466, a college of canons settled in the church, which became a major step on the way to Santiago de Compostela. The local brotherhoods and corporations financed part of the work, completed in the 16th century.

The basilica suffered from several natural disasters, including an earthquake in 1759 and a hurricane in 1768, which partially destroyed its arrow. In 1791 the old parish cemetery was abolished, and the exhumed bones were placed in the crypt under the bell tower, where natural mummies were discovered. The latter, exhibited until 1979, attracted famous visitors such as Victor Hugo and Théophile Gautier. Ranked a historic monument in 1846, the church became a minor basilica in 1903 and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.

The architecture of the basilica, 75 meters long and 38 wide, presents a Latin cross plan with three ships. The nave, 23 meters high, is covered with arches of warheads, and the transept separates the nave from the choir. The lower side houses 17 lateral chapels, dedicated to confraternities or corporations, and contains works of art such as a 17th century altarpiece in the chapel of Saint James. The stained glass windows, dating from the 16th, 19th and 20th centuries, include the creations of Max Ingrand after the destructions of the Second World War.

The organ buffet, Louis XV style, was built between 1762 and 1765, and the large organs, restored several times, have 41 games. The arrow, restored by Paul Abadie between 1861 and 1869, houses a carillon of 22 bells, rebuilt in 1999. Since 2020, restoration work is underway on the arrow. The basilica remains an active place of worship, integrated with the pastoral sector of Saint John, and a symbol of Bordeaux's religious and architectural heritage.

Future

The Basilica Saint-Michel is one of the 71 monuments as well as 7 portions of paths have been inscribed since 1998 on the UNESCO World Heritage List under the official title of "Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle in France".

It is on the way to Via Turonensis or "Voice de Tours" which starts from the Saint-Jacques Tower in Paris.

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