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Abbaye aux Dames
The abbey of women (French abbaye aux Dames) in Caen. It was an abbey founded in the early XI century by William the Conqueror; in the abbey church there is the tomb of his wife Matilde of Flanders. While the church is still consecrated today, the abbey complex is the seat of the Regional Council of Lower Normandy since 1986. The Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity is a historic monument since 1840, while the monastic complex has been there since 1976. William the Conqueror married his cousin Matilde of Flanders, but this marriage was not accepted by Pope Leo IX for consanguinity. The king received Pope Nicholas II the pardon, but as a fine one was asked to found Caen two abbeys, a male and a female. In 1059 they founded the male dedicated to Saint Stephen and the female dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity. Work at the church began in 1062 and was completed in 1130. It began to build the apse that was reinforced by external arches, in 1066, it was consecrated, even though work was still under way. At the death of the queen in 1083 the body was buried in the choir. In the 17th century, Laurence de Budos, in order to bring the Cenobio back to a life more appropriate to religious life, welcomed the Benedictine rule. In the 18th century the convent building was rebuilt on a project by Guillaume de la Fremblaye, a monk architect who also commissioned the same work at the male convent. The work started in 1702, but they were interrupted in 1737 due to lack of funds. With the help of the royal house they were resumed in 1767, the French Revolution will stop the completion again. In 1791 the religious were hunted. They returned to it in 1820 when the abbey was named Hôtel-Dieu de Caen and later took the name of hospice Saint-Louis remained until 1980. The church became parish in 1865 and was heavily restored. In the nineteenth century the towers and facade were completely reconstructed. The dimensions of the Trinity Church are more modest than the abbey of men. Although the aisle is shorter, smaller and smaller, it is more ornate and decorated than the exquisite companion. It does not show the simplicity in the strength of the Church of St Stephen; while maintaining the principle of the harmonic facade. Two square towers frame the rectilinear facade of the nave. Four buttresses vertically delimit the aisle facade and the bases of the two towers. The ground floor of the towers consists of two raised arcades. The nave is bordered by round arches surmounted by a galleries of trifore that support the ogival vault. The first time in Normandy, it dates back to 1130. The central transept hosts the altar. The north transept in Romanesque style opens on the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament with a tabernacle. That south shows Gothic columns integrated in Romanesque decorations. The choir ends in an apse decorated with four columns and a gallery decorated with fantastic animals. The crypt is rich in many columns. The church is eight hundred meters wide and nineteen. The Queen Matilde is buried in the chorus, the plaque carries the following inscription: Translation proposed by Jean Jacques Bertaux, Ce magnifique tombeau recouves the sépulture de Mathilde de mêurs et de race royale. Elle pour pour le duc de Flandre, pour mère Adèle, fille du roi de France Robert, et sur d'Henri qui régna sur le trône. Elle runs the épouse du Grand Roi Guillaume. Elle fit bâtir cette église et la combla de biens, he donnant terres et toutes choses nécessaires. Elle fit is for the dédicace. Consolator des pauvres, aimant the piété, pauvre pour elle-même, elle it runs riche que de ses dons aux pauvres. The genius of this part of the world is here in the finals of the premier du mois of November, après prime.
Attractions in Caen
