Saint-Etienne-le-Vieux Church

Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux Church, in Caen

Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux Church is a Gothic building today deconsecrated, neighbour of the Abbaye aux Hommes. The Caen audio-guided tour stops here, with respect, to evoke this former church, marked by the destructions of the war.

A former wounded church

Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux Church, so named to distinguish it from the neighbouring abbey church, is a former Gothic building of Caen. Deconsecrated since the Revolution, it was seriously damaged during the bombings of the Battle of Caen, in 1944. Its partly ruined walls and vaults, preserved in their state, testify both to its religious past and to the tragedy that struck the city. A neighbour of the Abbaye aux Hommes, it is a moving vestige of the Caen heritage.

What to see

Here you discover the partly ruined walls and vaults of the former Gothic church, witnesses of its religious past and of the destructions of 1944, in an atmosphere of contemplation, near the Abbaye aux Hommes. Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux is a moving vestige of the Caen heritage. It is a stop to be discovered with respect.

Practical information

Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux Church lies near the Abbaye aux Hommes, in the heart of Caen, reachable on foot. You mainly admire its exterior from the public space; deconsecrated, it is not visited as a working place of worship. You discover it during a walk, with respect for the place.

Why is Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux Church in ruins?

Deconsecrated since the Revolution, it was seriously damaged during the bombings of the Battle of Caen, in 1944; its vestiges are preserved in their state.

Where is Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux Church?

Near the Abbaye aux Hommes, in the heart of Caen, in Normandy.