Église Notre-Dame-de-Recouvrance, Gothic church in Orléans, France

The Église Notre-Dame-de-Recouvrance is a Gothic church in Orléans featuring a tower topped with a lantern and a Renaissance-style entrance on its north side. The structure displays the typical Gothic characteristics with vertical lines and detailed stonework that mark its period of construction.

The church was built between 1513 and 1519 under architect Jean Mynier, replacing an older chapel that had been part of the city's defensive wall system. This new construction allowed for a standalone place of worship located away from the fortifications.

The name Recouvrance recalls the mariners' wives who prayed to Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours on a half-ruined tower of the Avenum wall for their husbands' return from the Loire. It also refers to Joan of Arc's liberation of Orléans in 1429 and to the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, the church's patronal feast kept on the second Sunday of January.

The church stands in the city centre between rue Notre-Dame-de-Recouvrance and rue de l'Ecu-d'Or, close to the right bank of the Loire near quai Cypierre, between the George-V and Maréchal-Joffre bridges. It is hemmed in by surrounding buildings, so the tower is best seen from the street. The surrounding streets mix 16th- to 18th-century houses with 1940s Reconstruction blocks.

The name Recouvrance comes from the prayers of sailors' wives who sought safe return of their husbands from river journeys. This reflects the deep connection between the place and the daily lives of people whose livelihoods depended on the water.