5/5 Holly S. 4 years ago on Google
The
church
of
St.
Hilaire
is
one
of
the
most
important
monuments
in
Poitiers
for
a
number
of
reasons.
First
of
all,
it
retains
a
good
deal
of
it's
11th
century
construction
and
sculpture.
This
is
unusual
in
French
cities,
where
the
rise
of
Gothic
architecture
tended
to
result
in
the
tearing
down
of
Romanesque
churches
in
favor
of
the
elegant
new
trends
of
the
13th
century
on.
The
current
incarnation
was
built
with
a
timber
roof,
but
when
that
was
replaced
with
stone
vaulting,
the
nave
was
found
to
be
too
wide
to
support
the
weight
of
the
stone
above,
so
some
innovative
measures
were
taken
in
the
form
of
an
extra
row
of
piers
on
each
side
of
the
nave
to
help
lessen
the
span
to
be
supported
by
the
exterior
buttresses.
The
scale
of
the
church
is
massive,
not
necessarily
in
height,
but
in
the
volume
of
the
building.
Walk
slowly
down
an
aisle
on
one
side,
traverse
the
chevet
slowly,
marvel
at
the
changing
light,
the
11th
and
12th
century
carvings
on
the
capitals
and
interior
corbels,
the
remnants
of
Romanesque
frescoes,
and
try
to
imagine
how
a
rural
medieval
pilgrim
would
have
reacted
to
a
structure
of
this
magnitude.
You
can
easily
spend
an
hour
or
more
soaking
up
the
peaceful
ambience
of
the
place.
Another
point
of
interest
about
this
structure
is
the
fact
that
part
of
the
west
end
is
missing,
as
this
building
was
partially
destroyed
in
quarrying
activity
following
the
French
Revolution.
Much
of
the
vaulting
in
the
nave
and
the
western
façade
were
rebuilt
during
the
late-19th
century
reconstruction
boom
led
by
such
people
as
Violet-le-Duc
and
Joly-Laterme.
However,
the
building
is
NOT
from
the
19th
century,
as
another
reviewer
has
stated.
St.
Hilaire
is
a
remarkable
example
of
11th
and
12th
century
Romanesque
architecture
that,
despite
the
relatively
small
areas
of
19th-century
reconstruction,
is
remarkably
well
preserved.
It
sits
atop
the
central
butte
of
Poitiers,
some
distance
from
the
Centre
Ville,
but
it
is
well
worth
the
hike
to
get
there.
It
is
one
of
the
places
I
visit
every
time
I
am
in
Poitiers.
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