Basilique de St-Martin / St. Martin Basilica (Tours - France)
N 47° 23.580 E 000° 40.972
31T E 325138 N 5251441
Beautiful neo-Byzantine St. Martin Basilica (Basilique de St-Martin) in Tours, the church where is a tomb of French patron saint - St. Martin, is one of the key Roman Catholic churches in the region and also in whole country...
Waymark Code: WME5P6
Location: Centre-Val-de-Loire, France
Date Posted: 04/07/2012
Views: 51
Beautiful neo-Byzantine St. Martin Basilica (Basilique de St-Martin) in Tours, the church where is a tomb of French patron saint - St. Martin, is one of the key Roman Catholic churches in the region and also in whole country.
St. Martin Basilica is pictoresque and richly decorated neo-Byzantine structure built between 1886 and 1924 by French architect Victor Laloux. The new basilica is much smaller than its great medieval predecessor destroyed during French revolution. Next to it stand the only remains of the Romanesque basilica: the Tour de Charlemagne and the western clock tower. The relics and shrine to St. Martin are in the basilica's crypt, the walls of which are carved with hundreds of votive prayers dedicated to the French national saint.