The Collegiate Church of Saint-Vulfran (french: Collégiale Saint-Vulfran) is a collegiate church located in Abbeville,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The church, dedicated to Saint Vulfran is of Flamboyant Gothic style.

History

The construction of the church was started on 7 June 1488. From 31 August it was clear that funding would be an issue and thus the construction was ceased for some time. On 4 April 1520 Jean Crétel of

Tours-en-Vimeu Tours-en-Vimeu is a Communes of France, commune in the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated southwest of Abbeville, on the D22 road Population See ...

was commissioned to lead the work. The nave would be under construction until 1539. Construction resumed 120 years later when the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

was built in two years, from 1661 to 1663 in a more simplified style. As the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

took place, the church became a

Temple of Reason A Temple of Reason (French: ''Temple de la Raison'') was, during the French Revolution, a temple for a new belief system created to replace Christianity: the Cult of Reason, which was based on the ideals of reason, virtue, and liberty. This "relig ...

and a feast was celebrated in honor of the Supreme Being on 8 June 1794. Catholic worship in the church resumed in 1803. The church was listed as a

Monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

in 1840.

Damages during World War II

The church was heavily damaged on 20 May 1940 by German bombings as part of the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The restoration of the church was not completed until 1998.

References

{{reflist Roman Catholic churches completed in 1663 17th-century churches in France Collegiate churches in France Abbeville