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Origin and history

The church Saint-Laurent de Langeais, located in the Indre-et-Loire department in the Centre-Val de Loire region, is a Roman Catholic religious building built in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was initially a parish and priorial church, dependent on the abbey of the Trinity of Beaulieu-lès-Loches at the time of Foulques Nerra. Archaeological excavations revealed the previous existence of a Carolingian church on this site, attesting to an ancient religious occupation.

In the 11th century, the church was already a place of burial, and major modifications were made in the 12th century, including the addition of a porch, a transept and an apse replacing the flat bedside. In the 16th century, a diaphragm wall isolated the apse of the nave. Disused during the French Revolution, it was sold as a national property in 1798 and converted into an agricultural building, then as a deposit of materials.

The church was damaged, including the destruction of its porch in 1938, but it remains one of the best preserved in the region in its original Romanesque state. Excavations in 1901 and 1988 contributed to a better understanding of his history before his restoration. Classified as a historical monument in 1990, it now bears witness to medieval religious architecture and its evolution throughout the centuries.

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