Cathedrals, churches & abbeys

L’Eglise Notre-Dame de Calais

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The Notre-Dame de Calais church, the oldest in the city, is distinguished by its British-inspired architecture and its Tudor garden, inaugurated in 2016. This is where General de Gaulle was married in 1921. Badly damaged during the war, it has been restored over the decades.
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The Notre-Dame de Calais church is the oldest in the city and is where General de Gaulle was married. Its architecture is of British inspiration, as is the Tudor garden that surrounds it. 

 

The Church of Notre-Dame is located in the district that was Calais in the Middle Ages. The most imposing religious building in Calais is the result of several periods of construction since the 13th century. 

When the English took possession of Calais in 1347, a church had existed on this site since the beginning of the 13th century. The English carried out a major enlargement, helped by Flemish workers. It was in the 17th century that the chapel of the Virgin and a monumental marble altarpiece appeared. A reconstruction of the main portal proved necessary after the period of the French Revolution (end of the 18th century).

In 1913, the church was listed as a Historic Monument. It was there that the marriage of Captain Charles de Gaulle and Yvonne Vendroux, a daughter of notables from Calais, was celebrated. The church was seriously damaged, the powerful bell tower typical of English religious architecture collapsed. The slow reconstruction of the building began in the 1960s.

It was in the 2016st century that many interior works were carried out. To reinforce the British character, the Tudor garden was inaugurated in XNUMX, according to the plans of Caroline Holmes, an eminent specialist in English gardens. 


Cinema anecdote: Henri Verneuil's "Weekend à Zuydcoote" is one of Jean Paul Belmondo's first major films. Filming took place in 1964, and an important scene was shot at Notre-Dame de Calais.

7 rue Notre Dame - 62100 CALAIS

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