Our Blog - Normandy 2023 - Varengeville-sur-Mer, France

We somewhat stopped by the Saint-Valery church and marine cemetery in Varengeville-sur-Mer, which sits up on the cliff overlooking the English Channel. It also has become a fashionable seaside resort and was popular with various artists, including Claude Monet and Joan Miró.

The church seems to date back to the 12th and 13th centuries when the nave on the northern side was built, in Romanesque style. A 2nd nave was added in Gothic style. You can also see the difference in building materials on the outside.

Inside, you continue to see the difference between the Romanesque nave (on the right in this 1st picture) with the rounded arches and the rounded wooden ceiling and the Gothic nave (Gothic arch straight ahead and the pointy wooden ceiling, and the ribbed vaults and columns).

Modern stained glass windows decorate the building, done by Georges Braque, who is buried in the cemetery surrounding the church. The church is dedicated to Saint Valery de Leuconay, a Frankish monk who founded the abbey of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme.