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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-des-Champs church of Avranches replaces a modest parish church of the 12th to 13th century, which has become insufficient and old. In 1855, the project for a new building was entrusted to architect Nicolas Théberge, a specialist in the Gothic Revival style in the English Channel. Its disproportionate ambition – a two-towered, salient and wandering transept – raises questions about its financing, especially as the city struggles to raise funds after the costly reconstruction of Saint-Gervais. The first stone was laid in 1863, but the works, slowed down by technical and financial difficulties, received state aid only in 1876.

The construction spanned decades, glazed by drama such as the fatal fall of a mason in 1868 or the death of Théberge in 1866, replaced by Cheftel. Consecration occurred only in 1892, but the towers were only completed between 1926 and 1937, after the delays of the First World War. In 1944, a fire bombardment the church, destroying its windows signed Duhamel-Marette. The restorations ended in 1962, giving the building its cultural vocation, while its inscription in historical monuments in 2006 devotes its architectural heritage.

The church stands out for its bold neo-Gothic style, breaking with the simplicity of the old rural church. His plan includes a choir to walk through (uncompleted), a salient transept and a two-arrowed facade never finished. Organs, electrified in the inter-war period, and classified furniture testify to its rich interior heritage. A symbol of the avranchinese resilience, it also illustrates the challenges of major religious sites in the 19th century, between artistic ambitions and economic constraints.

Its history reflects the upheavals of its time: slowly perceived industrialization in Normandy, world wars disrupting the work, and post-1944 reconstruction. The mobilization of local authorities (mayor, archpriest) to obtain state subsidies reveals the social importance of the building, a place of worship and collective memory. Today, it remains an urban landmark in Carnot Square, between sacred heritage and civil history.

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