BASILICA OF AVESNIÈRES
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This magnificent church gives the quay that bears its name an incomparable charm
This magnificent church gives the quay that bears its name an incomparable charm. Its history is said to have begun in 1050 when Yves de Saint-Berthevin had a building dedicated to Notre Dame rebuilt. Given to the Benedictine nuns of the Ronceray d'Angers around 1070, the church was rebuilt in 1130-1140. Devastated during the Hundred Years' War, the nave was rebuilt in 1485. The choir, surrounded by an ambulatory with five radiating chapels, is dominated by the spire richly sculpted in 1532 by the architect Jamet-Neveu. At the end of the 19th century, in fulfilment of the wish made by Monsignor Wicart when the Prussians were at the gates of the city, the tower was rebuilt identically and the nave rebuilt in Romanesque style. Classified as a historical monument in 1840, this once very popular pilgrimage site was erected as a minor basilica in 1898 by Pope Leo XIII.
Do not miss the huge saint Christophe either: old popular art.