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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame de Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, located in Gironde, finds its origins in the 13th century, when the bastide was founded by Alphonse de Poitiers in 1255. A first church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is erected on a plot along the present street of the Republic, near the public square. Partly destroyed during the Hundred Years War, it was shaved in 1561 by the Huguenots during the wars of Religion, leaving only the Romanesque porch, the base of the bell tower, and some interior elements such as the oratory and the baptismal chapel. The city, which became predominantly Protestant, even saw the construction of a temple in 1587, while Protestant consuls in 1610 requested the reconstruction of the bell tower to reinstall the bell, which was essential for municipal announcements.

The reconstruction of the church began in 1622 after the visit of Louis XIII, who partially financed the work following the surrender of the Protestants. The king ordered his reconstruction to affirm the Catholic authority, in a context of counter-reform marked by the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685. The works, led by the parish priest Jacques Andrault and financed in part by Louis XIV, were completed in 1686 with the consecration by the bishop of Agen, Jules Mascaron. The building, however, remains unfinished: in 1724, lightning destroyed part of the bell tower, and repairs were necessary throughout the 18th century. The church also served as a burial place until 1775, when burials were prohibited for reasons of hygiene.

The French Revolution transformed the church into "the temple of Reason" in 1793, while its bells were spared in contrast to those of neighbouring convents. Under the Executive Board, it alternately hosts Catholic and Protestant cults, reflecting local tensions. In the 19th century, major works were undertaken: in 1850, architect L-Abbé of Bordeaux led an almost total reconstruction, retaining only the western and l ́oratory facade. The stone arrow, added in 1871, brought the bell tower to 57 metres. The church then became a symbol of Catholic reconquest, with the installation of devotional statues and of a Merklin organ in 1893, replaced in 2015 by a British neogothic instrument.

Conflicts between Catholics and Republicans culminated in 1906 during inventories, where the faithful barricaded themselves in the church, raising the tricolor flag to resist. In the 20th century, successive restorations ( 1930s, 1990, 2018) preserved its heritage, including stained glass windows by Stephen Thibaud, a 17th-century pulpit symbolizing victory over Protestantism, and carved arch keys. Classified as historical monuments, the church remains a place of memory of religious struggles and an example of religious architecture transformed by the hazards of history.

The present building, in the shape of a hall church without transept, comprises three ogival naves and a choir with pans. Its furniture reflects its turbulent history: a walnut pulpit (1685) representing Hercule terrassing the hydra (allegory of triumphant Catholicism), paintings from the 18th to 19th centuries, and statues of saints offered in the 19th century. The gargoyles of the bell tower and the carved heads of the oratory (XIIIth–XIVth centuries) recall its medieval origin. Outside, the bows and the ruet Notre-Dame keep traces of the old stalls and a re-used stone, witness to the first church.

Historically financed by tithes, gifts, and land rents, the church played a major social role, notably through the Holy Spirit's Hospital (attested as early as 1278) and charitable works. The conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, then between clergy and Republicans, marked her history, making her a mirror of the religious and political fractures of the Gironde. Today, it embodies both the architectural heritage of the bastida and the legacy of the struggles for worship.

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