Charleville-Mézières

Basilica Notre Dame d'Esperance

A little treasure in this town. The church is most beautifully lit within the interior by amazing stained glass windows. It is a real work of art and a hidden gem in this part of France.

See how it lights up the chairs in a kaleidoscope of bright colour.

Gothic style church built from 1499, the Basilica Notre-Dame d'Espérance of Charleville-Mézières is one of the jewels of the Ardennes. Classified as a historic monument in 1910, the church was completed in the seventeenth century. The interest of his visit is largely based on its adornment of stained glass, made on cardboard painter René Dürrbach between 1954 and 1979. 62 windows and 6 occulis are well installed on an area of 1000 m2, forming an unbeatable canopy. The original stained glass is in the unique theme that is developed there: the duality between the Black Virgin of Mézières and the Virgin of Light, Notre Dame d'Espérance (Our Lady of Hope). The entire canopy of the Basilica Notre-Dame d'Espérance of Charleville-Mézières and is designed as an introductory course where the visitor is based on signs, numbers, colors and basic symbols of Christianity to advance in his discovery of the building. And the changing light over the hours of the day gives the whole harmony and an atmosphere that captures every person visiting this exceptional Basilica.