Eglise St-Julien / Church of St. Julian (Tours, France)
N 47° 23.745 E 000° 41.218
31T E 325456 N 5251737
Gothic church of St. Julian (Eglise St-Julien) is one of the most imposing pieces of preserved medieval architecture in town Tours.
Waymark Code: WM9DT7
Location: Centre-Val-de-Loire, France
Date Posted: 08/07/2010
Views: 32
Gothic church of St. Julian (Eglise St-Julien), a part of former benedictine abbey, is one of the most imposing pieces of preserved medieval architecture in town Tours. An austere exterior with some Romanesque elements masks a Gothic interior that does not have the ornate grandeur of the nearby Cathedral of St. Gatien, but is still imposing.
The original Church of St. Julian was established by the king of the Franks, Clovis following his victory in 507, on Visigoths near Poitiers. The present structure, built in 1240, was finished relatively quickly and has the shape of a Latin cross. The nave and transept are of the same Gothic simple style. The nave is 21 m high and 10 m wide. The width of the chancel is the same as the length of the transept - 30 m. In the south transept you can see a beautiful rosette window. The church stained glass windows which have suffered the vicissitudes of weather (storms of 1482, 1551, 1664) and men.