Day 11-- Poitiers; Angers

Notre-Dame la Grande, Poitiers

Having a double status, collegial and parochial, it forms part of the Catholic diocese of Poitiers.

The west front adorned with statuary is recognised as a masterpiece of Romanesque religious art. The walls inside the church are painted.

The church is mentioned in the 10th century, under the name of "Sancta Maria Maior", referring to the Romanesque church of the same name.

The whole of the building was rebuilt in the second half of the 11th century, in the period of High Romanesque, and inaugurated in 1086.

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