Église Notre Dame de Montmorillon, church in Montmorillon, France

Église Notre-Dame de Montmorillon is a church built on a rocky ledge above the river La Gartempe, with construction beginning in the 11th century. The building features a Latin cross layout with Romanesque eastern sections, a 13th-century Gothic vaulted nave, and reinforced walls from periods of warfare.

Construction began in the late 11th century in Romanesque style and was later expanded with Gothic elements. During the Hundred Years' War and Wars of Religion, the building suffered damage and was reinforced with thicker walls and sealed windows for protection.

The church is named Notre-Dame and was a royal collegiate foundation, becoming a parish church only in the 19th century. Its 14th- or early 15th-century facade portal is carved with foliage and flanked by two niches. The windows exist on one side only, the others walled up during the Wars of Religion because they were the hardest to defend.

The church is currently closed to visitors due to safety concerns since 2018. You can view the exterior facade and its silhouette perched on the rocky ledge from outside, and you can contact the Montmorillon tourist office for information about the building's history and reopening plans.

The church has windows on only one side: those on the north wall were walled up during the Wars of Religion because they were the hardest to defend. The nave is also markedly off-axis from the choir, and two narrow passages called "berrichons" link the nave to the side walls.