Mantes-la-Jolie

Mantes is a beautifully located little town on the Seine river, some 50 km northwest of Paris. On the border between Ile-de-France and Normandy, the town played an important strategic role in he middle ages and was especially favoured by the French monarchy. The elegant collegiate church was a royal building.

West façade

The church was built between the 1150s and the early 13th century.

Central portal

Dating from the 1170s, the central portal is dedicated to the Virgin, following the iconographic pattern first seen at Senlis: Coronation (tympanum), Dormition and Assumption (lintel).

Chevet

Nave

Nave

Chapel

Nave

The absence of a transept creates a magnificent sense of unified space.

Ambulatory