St Samson Church - Aunay-sur-Odon

St Samson Church – Aunay-sur-Odon

Between June 11 and 15, 1944, a rain of bombs fell on the small commune of Aunay-sur-Odon, killing 187 civilians. The village church, very damaged, is the first rebuilt after the war in Calvados.

The church was rebuilt between 1949 and 1955, under the direction of architect Pierre Chirol. The structure is a mixture of ancient and modern techniques. Built of reinforced concrete, it is lined with a Caen stone infill.

There are few religious buildings reconstructed in an old architectural style as was the case in Aunay-sur-Odon.

Its architecture, very inspired by the model of Romanesque churches of the 11th and 12th centuries, is in a Latin cross with a tripartite nave and aisles, the ambulatory choir ends in a cul-de-four apse.

The stained glass windows representing the prophets, the New Testament, the Fathers of the Church, the saints venerated in Normandy are the work of several renowned artists: the painter Jacques Le Chevallier and the master glassmakers Paul Bony, Jacques Bony, Maurice Rocher, and Adeline Hébert-Steven.

Since 2002, the building has been labeled « Heritage of the 20th century »