Tours Saint-Julien Church, Tours

Saint-Julien Church is a former Benedictine abbey church on Rue Nationale in the center of Tours, with origins dating to the 6th century when King Clovis reportedly founded a church here after his victory at Vouillé in 507. The current building combines a Romanesque bell-tower porch from 966 — the oldest surviving element — with a Gothic nave rebuilt between 1240 and 1259 after a hurricane destroyed the original. Inside, the bell tower preserves rare 11th-century frescoes depicting the Crossing of the Red Sea, while the nave and choir feature modern stained glass by Max Ingrand and Jacques Le Chevalier, installed after the originals were destroyed during WWII bombing.