Église Notre-Dame-du-Pré du Mans, Romanesque church in the Pré district, Le Mans, France

Église Notre-Dame-du-Pré is a Romanesque church built between the 11th and 12th centuries on the right bank of the Sarthe in Le Mans. Its nave, 58 metres long and 10 wide, has pillars alternating round and square with Romanesque capitals; the stone vaults were added in the 15th century. The choir opens onto an ambulatory with three apsidal chapels, and a large porch tower was added in front of the façade in the 19th century.

A monastery existed here from the 6th century; the present church was begun in the 11th century above the crypt of the older monastery, and the choir now stands over those ruins. Construction continued into the early 12th century, giving a largely Romanesque building 58 metres long and 10 wide, then the third largest in Le Mans after the cathedral and La Couture. Stone vaults were added in the 15th century, and a general restoration in the second half of the 19th century ended with a tall porch-tower added in front of the façade. It was listed as a monument historique in 1840.

The name comes from the Pré district on the right bank of the Sarthe, where the church served the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Julien-du-Pré. In 1950 Max Ingrand made the Stations of the Cross and the stained-glass windows, which can be seen inside. Marie-Louise de Laval-Montmorency, born here in 1723, left to become abbess of Montmartre and was guillotined in Paris in 1794.

The church is easily reached on foot and sits in a quiet area near the city center with parking available. It is best to check opening times before visiting or aim for times outside of services to explore the interior freely.

The choir is tilted slightly to the right and stands about a metre higher than originally built, and the church was the third-largest building in Le Mans when constructed, after the cathedral and La Couture, though it lay outside the city walls in a suburb. The relics of Saint Julian were found in its crypt before being moved to the cathedral in 1835.