Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Sainte-Croix de Loudun is a former Romanesque collegiate church founded in the 11th century by Benedictine monks. His murals, dated between the 12th and 13th centuries, still remain in the transept and choir despite the damage suffered over the centuries. The building, partially burned in 1558 during the religious wars, was rebuilt and became an emblematic place of religious tensions.

In the 17th century, the church was the scene of the exorcisms of the possessed of Loudun, a striking episode of French religious history. It was in front of this college that Urbain Grandier, accused of witchcraft, was burned alive on 18 Aug. 1634. After the Revolution, sold as national property, it served as a covered market until 1991 under the name of Marchés Sainte-Croix.

In 1889, the collapse of the nave, due to a lack of maintenance, led to its restoration with a Eiffel-type structure, which emerged from the Universal Exhibition in Paris. Ranked a historical monument in 1955 (cheur et transept) and later listed in 1992 for its medieval remains, the church is today a cultural space, the Sainte-Croix area, welcoming exhibitions, concerts and local events.

Its architecture thus combines Romanesque heritage, post-fire transformations, and 19th century additions. The murals, though fragmentary, remain a rare testimony of medieval religious decoration in Poitou. The Place Sainte-Croix, which faces him, perpetuates the memory of Urbain Grandier and the dramas that took place there.

External links