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Origin and history

The church Saint-Pierre-le-Guillard, located in Bourges in the Cher department, is mentioned as early as 1164 under the name "ecclesia sancti Petri Jaillardi" in a papal bubble of Alexander III. It then belonged to the monastery of Saint Hippolyte. The current building, built in the 1220s according to Gaspard Thaumas de La Thaumassière, is associated with a local legend: St.Antoine de Padua would have converted a rich Jewish banker, Zacarie le Guillard, after a mule bowed to the Blessed Sacrament. The latter would have financed the construction, and the church was consecrated by Archbishop Simon de Sully.

In the 15th century, the church was equipped with side chapels and an additional radiant chapel. A fire in 1487, which ravaged half of Bourges, caused the collapse of the vaults of the central ship and the north side. The north wall was rebuilt, and an apparent structure was installed, still visible today. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, a restoration altered the high windows and added two chapels, including the Sacred Heart. Lightning struck the bell tower in 1547, and a violent wind overturned it in 1707.

The building underwent several transformations: in 1674, a side chapel became sacristy, and in 1827-1830, the bow-buttons were rebuilt, as were five bays. The 17th century altarpiece, masking the sanctuary, was destroyed in 1855. Ranked a historic monument in 1929, the church preserves remarkable decorative elements, such as bas-reliefs, 17th-century murals, and 19th-century glass windows of the Lobin workshop. Its architecture, without transept, is inspired by Champagne and Burgundy Gothic schools, with details such as a superior courier, typical of these regions.

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