Nantes was a powerful and prosperous city in which religion was important, as is evidenced by the many substantial and beautiful churches in addition to the Cathedral. I wasn’t visiting the town in order to see the churches but it was difficult to avoid them!
The first building on this site was a Chapel which included the grave of Bishop Similien, the third Bishop of Nantes who was subsequently sanctified, and this was followed a century later with a more substantial church. Major rebuilding took place in the 15C and again in the 19C, but the Church of St Similien has never been completed. This rather strange-looking building from the outside has a wonderful interior.
A church was first built on the site of the current Church of St Nicolas in the 11C. Today’s church dates from the 19C.
Words aren’t really necessary, are they?
I would love to hear from you!