The first known mention of the Notre Dame La Pauvre church goes back to the X century. At the beginning of XII century in favor of the reconstruction of the monument, the term changes and becomes Notre Dame De La Riche.
Nothing seems to remain of this Romanesque building whose facade extended to the level of the aedicula surmounting the crypt of St Gratien at No. 12 rue Courteline.
The current church results from a rebuilding in the XV century on a smaller surface.
The church adopts a plan massed with a flat chevet. The main gateway to the south faces Courteline Street which was once a major axis linking the city of Tours to the Château de Plessis les Tours, royal residence of Louis XI who died there in 1483.
Traces of ancient works paint representing Christ subsist imperceptibly on the columns.
Strange gargoyles adorn the facade, two legends remain the first that the builders were afraid of not being paid by the clergy and the second the builder after the condemnation of the order in the cathedral of Tours by Philip the Fair in May 1308 would have left a mischievous claw on the gargoyles.
Legends in the course of our visits, we will meet a lot, so tell us your opinion ...
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