- The Church at Sainte Mere Eglise (Eglise Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption de Sainte Mere-Eglise)
The Church on the square at Sainte Mere Eglise is renowned for the part it played in the DDay story. The oldest parts of the church date back to the 12th Century and are in the Romanesque style; a style of architecture developed in Italy and western Europe around 1000, between the Roman and the Gothic and characterised by semi-circular arches and vaults, substitution of piers for columns, and decorative ornamentation. The transept square with its four pillars and semi-circular arches and the base of the bell tower date from 12th century. The tower itself is built in the saddleback style – a ridge and two sloping rooves creating two gable ends.
The village had been occupied by the Germans since June 18, 1940 and where there was a German garrison. It is located on the western flank of the planned landing beaches and in the area where the US paratroopers were dropped prior to the landings from about 1:40 am on D-day with their mission to secure the flanks and assist the exit from Utah Beach.
In the early hours of 6th June 1944, many of the paratroopers were dropped from their planes miles off course and some accidentally dropped into the village of Ste Mere. At the time an incendiary bomb from an Allied air raid had started a fire in a building on the square and residents joined force to put it out. The flames it lit up the sky making the descending paratroopers very visible to the Germans below, thus thwarting their attempt to take them by surprise. Some of the American troops got caught in the trees in the square and were shot before they could escape. The parachute of an experienced paratrooper, Private John Steele of F Company, 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment got snagged on the church tower. He was shot through the foot but he hung there for two hours pretending to be dead. Other paratroopers who landed nearby, didn't help him because they thought he was already dead but Germans, who occupied the tower wanted whatever papers he had on him, so they went to search him and discovered that he was alive. They took him prisoner, but he later escaped. His story was portrayed in the movie The Longest Day with John Steele being played by actor Red Buttons.
The town formed a “festival committee” to organise the commemorations of the landings and formed close relationships with the veterans who returned to the village each year. They decided to hang a mannequin named "Big Jim" on the bell tower in memory of John Steele. The parachute, the uniform and the dummy's equipment were changed twice a year because of damage caused by the wet climate of the Cotentin but in more recent times, the town pays for it to be painted in protective paint so it can be changed less frequently. The mannequin is the wrong side of the tower – John Steele actually got caught and hung on the opposite side.
More US troops entered the town, and the German garrison, who had amongst the confusion had retired to bed, put up only patchy resistance. At approximately 4:30 a.m. Sainte Mere Eglise became the first town in France to be liberated although fighting around the town continued until June 7. The church sustained damage; looking on the column near the pulpit it is still possible to make out traces of machine gun bullets and there is damage at the western portal.
The village had been occupied by the Germans since June 18, 1940 and where there was a German garrison. It is located on the western flank of the planned landing beaches and in the area where the US paratroopers were dropped prior to the landings from about 1:40 am on D-day with their mission to secure the flanks and assist the exit from Utah Beach.
In the early hours of 6th June 1944, many of the paratroopers were dropped from their planes miles off course and some accidentally dropped into the village of Ste Mere. At the time an incendiary bomb from an Allied air raid had started a fire in a building on the square and residents joined force to put it out. The flames it lit up the sky making the descending paratroopers very visible to the Germans below, thus thwarting their attempt to take them by surprise. Some of the American troops got caught in the trees in the square and were shot before they could escape. The parachute of an experienced paratrooper, Private John Steele of F Company, 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment got snagged on the church tower. He was shot through the foot but he hung there for two hours pretending to be dead. Other paratroopers who landed nearby, didn't help him because they thought he was already dead but Germans, who occupied the tower wanted whatever papers he had on him, so they went to search him and discovered that he was alive. They took him prisoner, but he later escaped. His story was portrayed in the movie The Longest Day with John Steele being played by actor Red Buttons.
The town formed a “festival committee” to organise the commemorations of the landings and formed close relationships with the veterans who returned to the village each year. They decided to hang a mannequin named "Big Jim" on the bell tower in memory of John Steele. The parachute, the uniform and the dummy's equipment were changed twice a year because of damage caused by the wet climate of the Cotentin but in more recent times, the town pays for it to be painted in protective paint so it can be changed less frequently. The mannequin is the wrong side of the tower – John Steele actually got caught and hung on the opposite side.
More US troops entered the town, and the German garrison, who had amongst the confusion had retired to bed, put up only patchy resistance. At approximately 4:30 a.m. Sainte Mere Eglise became the first town in France to be liberated although fighting around the town continued until June 7. The church sustained damage; looking on the column near the pulpit it is still possible to make out traces of machine gun bullets and there is damage at the western portal.
Some of the original ancient stained-glass windows survived but two were replaced after the war with special commemorative designs to honour the troops that liberated the town on June 6th. Over the west door, is a unique stained-glass window designed by Paul Renaud, the son of the mayor on D-day. It depicts the Virgin Mary and child above a burning Sainte Mere Eglise with paratroopers and planes around her. An inscription below the figures reads: "This stained glass was completed with the participation of Paul Renaud and Sainte Mere, for the memory of those who, with their courage and sacrifice, liberated Sainte Mere Eglise and France". Renaud spoke about how highly the Veterans who liberated the Town were respected: “While the mannequin and windows are but inanimate objects”, Renaud said, “they help keep the memory of very real heroes alive. We are really very devoted to the veterans, for me, when they landed, they were like heroes in a movie. Now they are brothers."
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Further down the transept and on the left is another modern window designed by Renaud and donated in 1969, by American Veterans on the 25th Anniversary of D-day. It features many symbols and insignia representing the men who fought in and around the area. The church organ was installed as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations in 1984 and paid for by the Landing Beach Committee, the French Veterans Association, Veterans of the 101st and the French Authorities. |
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The church is not just notable for its connections with the night of June 6th but has many interesting features worth looking out for:
The capitals or top of the pillars in the transept square, are decorated with many different animals typical of the 12th century Romanesque style. Animals were very important in medieval iconography; it was believed that understanding nature helped humans achieve knowledge about the true meaning of life and so animals became symbolic of human behaviour and religious truths. You can see many examples of this in this church – if you face directly away from St Michel in the window, look for
The rest of the building is Gothic and dates from the beginning of the 13th century. The nave combines a Romanesque single roof and Gothic ribbed vaults. The Choir is 14th century and the western portal and northern aisles were rebuilt after being damaged in the Hundred Years War. John Steele’s tower, topped with a saddleback roof was added in the 15th century in the Flamboyant Gothic Style and has a highly embellished balustrade on the north and south sides.
Any visit to the town would not be complete without a visit to the excellent Airborne Museum and the local ww2-themed cafes, shops and restaurants. Around 6th, the town comes alive with reenactors and serving troops from Europe and the US who take part in a commemorative drop at nearby La Fiere; the centre is closed to traffic at these times but parking is available on the outskirts.
The capitals or top of the pillars in the transept square, are decorated with many different animals typical of the 12th century Romanesque style. Animals were very important in medieval iconography; it was believed that understanding nature helped humans achieve knowledge about the true meaning of life and so animals became symbolic of human behaviour and religious truths. You can see many examples of this in this church – if you face directly away from St Michel in the window, look for
- A man holding fish to your left on the southeast column.
- To the left is a chicken and the right around the corner a pig’s head.
- If you turn around clockwise, on the column to the south west, there is a rabbit a
- On the next column there is a monkey’s head.
- Finally, there is a duck on the column after the window with some cats above.
The rest of the building is Gothic and dates from the beginning of the 13th century. The nave combines a Romanesque single roof and Gothic ribbed vaults. The Choir is 14th century and the western portal and northern aisles were rebuilt after being damaged in the Hundred Years War. John Steele’s tower, topped with a saddleback roof was added in the 15th century in the Flamboyant Gothic Style and has a highly embellished balustrade on the north and south sides.
Any visit to the town would not be complete without a visit to the excellent Airborne Museum and the local ww2-themed cafes, shops and restaurants. Around 6th, the town comes alive with reenactors and serving troops from Europe and the US who take part in a commemorative drop at nearby La Fiere; the centre is closed to traffic at these times but parking is available on the outskirts.
