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Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée Church dans la Sarthe

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine religieux
Eglise romane et gothique
Sarthe

Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée Church

    6 D89
    72110 Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Église Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée
Crédit photo : Pymouss - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
XIIe siècle
Initial construction
vers 1350
Building the tower
1520
Creation of stained glass
1530-1531
Choir completion
fin XVe - début XVIe siècle
Major reconstruction
1638
Side tables
1926
First ranking
7 janvier 2003
Total classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The entire church (Box B 279): classification by decree of 7 January 2003

Key figures

Jean Mauclerc - Glass painter Author of the glass window (1520).
Charles de Coesmes - Lord of Lucé and Bonnetable Commander of the stained glass in 1520.
André Rapicault - Donor Represented on the 1520 window.
Jeanne d'Harcourt - Donor Represented on the 1520 stained glass window.

Origin and history

The Church of Notre-Dame de Torcé-en-Vallée, located in the Sarthe department, is a Romanesque religious building, partially rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin and has been a place of Marian devotion since the Middle Ages, with an annual pilgrimage on the Feast of the Visitation on July 2. The church was once attached to a priory dependent on the abbey of Marmoutiers, of which only architectural traces remain like the large Romanesque door of the facade.

The present structure is the result of a major reconstruction in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, including a choir with five sides, two spans and transept-forming chapels. The choir, completed in 1530, houses a stone retable whose high relief of the Dormition of the Virgin (1531) is remarkable. The north side nave, added after 1514, and a south chapel (17th century) complete the building. Among his treasures, the glass roof of the Crucifixion (1520), commissioned by Charles de Coesmes and realized by glassmaker Jean Mauclerc, represents Saint John, Mary, and two donors.

The church, originally listed as a historic monument in 1926, was fully classified in 2003. Its history reflects its central role in local religious life, marked by architectural and artistic additions from the 16th and 17th centuries. The adjacent priory, now disappeared, communicated with the church through an opening in the northern chapel, highlighting its past importance as a prioral church.

The site remains an active place of worship and a testimony of the religious architecture of Sartho, combining Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance elements. Its 16th century stained glass window, Sarthe's oldest still in place, and its lateral altarpiece (1638) illustrate its rich artistic heritage. The pilgrimage to Notre-Dame-de-Torcé perpetuates a medieval tradition, attracting faithful and visitors at the feast of July 2.

External links