Basilica of Saint Nicholas, Nantes

South front of the basilica

The Basilica of Saint Nicholas (French: Basilique Saint-Nicolas de Nantes) is a minor basilica in Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, historically in Brittany. The present church is a Gothic Revival structure built during the years 1844 to 1869[1] on the site of a mediaeval parish church largely rebuilt in the late 18th century. Because of the constrained site in the centre of the old city, the church is oriented north-south rather than the traditional east-west.[2] The building was severely damaged in World War II in the Allied bombardment of 16 September 1943.[3] Structural repairs were not completed until 1978.[4] It was declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII on 26 October 1882.[5]

The Gothic Revival furnishings were registered as a monument historique on 20 November 1985, the church itself on 6 November 1986.[4]

References

1. Gilles Bienvenu, Alain Croix and Marcel Launay, "Saint-Nicolas", in Dominique Amouroux (dir.), Alain Croix (dir.), Thierry Guidet (dir.), Didier Guyvarc'h (dir.) et al., Dictionnaire de Nantes, Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2013, 1119 p. (ISBN 9782753528215), pp. 902-904
2. Francis Legouais, Les édifices religieux de la paroisse Saint-Nicolas à travers les âges, Les Annales de Nantes et du pays nantais, Nantes, Société académique de Nantes et de la Loire-Atlantique, nos 171-172, 1974, pp. 5-12 (ISSN 0991-7179)
3. Paul Caillaud, Les Nantais sous les bombardements: 1941-1944, Aux Portes du Large, 1947, 236 p. (BNF 34200986), p. 100
4. Base Merimee: Eglise Saint-Nicolas
5. Archives de la Paroisse Saint-Nicolas-de-Nantes (résumé introductif) - Sous-série P-St-Nicolas Nantes (1737-2002) (online version)

47°12′56″N 1°33′28″W