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Origin and history

Notre-Dame-la-Grande, a Romanesque collegiate church located in Poitiers, is a jewel of medieval art poitevin. Its sculpted façade, made between 1115 and 1130, is a masterpiece of the Romanesque style, while its interior walls, painted and restored, reflect the decorative richness of the period. The building, mentioned from the tenth century under the name Sancta Maria Major, was both parish and collegiate, depending on the canons of the cathedral. Rebuilt in the 11th century, it was consecrated in 1086 by the future Pope Urban II. Its history is marked by enlargements in the 12th century, iconoclastic destruction in 1562, and major restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The screen façade, typical of the Poitevin novel, dominates the building with its superimposed archatures and biblical sculptures, including a frieze telling the Incarnation. Inside, the central nave and its collaterals, vaulted in cradle and edges, create a church-hall effect. The choir, slightly disoriented, houses Romanesque frescoes, including a rare representation of Revelation, while the crypt preserves 11th century paintings. The Gothic and Renaissance chapels, added between the 15th and 16th centuries, bear witness to the architectural evolution and patronage of the Poitevin bourgeois families.

Classified as a Historical Monument in 1840, the church suffered damage due to pollution, salt, and religious conflicts. The 19th century restorations removed Gothic additions, while those of 1992-2004 desalinated the stones and restored the facade. A new campaign, launched in 2024, aims to preserve its interior paintings until 2027. The legend of the Keys of Poitiers, combined with a statue of the Virgin saving the city in 1202, although historically implausible, marked the local culture until the 19th century.

The architectural influence of Notre-Dame-la-Grande extends far beyond the Poitou. His model inspired buildings such as the Cathedral of Angoulême or the Sacred Heart of Montmartre, while in the United States, architect Henry Hobson Richardson was inspired by the Trinity Church of Boston. The church's artistic representations, from 19th-century engravings to photographs by Gustave Le Gray (1851), highlight its heritage importance and cultural influence.

The remarkable elements include the scale bell tower, typical of the southwest, the historic capitals such as the Ascension, and traces of polychromy on the facade. Liturgical objects, such as the Baroque chair of the seventeenth century or the statue of Notre-Dame des Clefs, recall its spiritual and community role. Today closed for restoration, the church remains a symbol of the Romanesque heritage and poitevin identity.

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