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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-André de Châteauroux replaces a first building destroyed during the French Revolution. Its reconstruction was decided in 1843 and initially entrusted to the departmental architect André Bisson. The works, interrupted for two decades, resume under the direction of Alfred Dauvergne, inspired by the plans originally planned for the Basilica Sainte-Clotilde in Paris. The church, in the Gothic Revival style of the 13th century, is characterized by its three naves, its transept and its two bell towers on the facade. It was inaugurated in 1876 after seven years of construction.

The land on which it is built is ceded by General Bertrand's family. The building retains part of its original furniture, including stained glass windows made by the Lobin de Tours workshop, laid between 1875 and 1876. The glass windows of the choir, damaged during the bombardment of the station in 1944, were replaced between 1955 and 1963 by creations of the workshops Dettviller and Tillier d'Issoudun, after cartons by André-Louis Pierre. The church was finally listed as historical monuments on 15 April 2009.

With a length of 87 metres, a width of 35 metres and a height of 60 metres, the Saint-André church is a notable example of 19th-century religious architecture in the Centre-Val de Loire region. It now depends on the archdiocese of Bourges and the parish of the Saints-Apôtres of Châteauroux, while remaining a symbol of local heritage and a witness to post-revolutionary reconstructions.

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