Church Notre-Dame de l'Assomption - Modane

Name: Church Notre-Dame de l'Assomption - Modane
Address: Rue Gambetta, Modane, 73500
Telephone: 04 79 05 07 95
Price range: Free access.

Modane

The former church of Modane was destroyed during the Anglo-American bombing in the night of September 16th 1943. Reconstruction as war damage began in 1951 to 1954.

Description

The church was built of gray Praz stone, and reinterprets the typically mineral porch architecture of Haute Maurienne churches.
Due to climatic conditions, a porch was built to allow access from the church square and the outside stairs from rue Gambetta. The main facade features 3 semicircular arches atop stone columns.
The bell tower withstood the bombardment of 1943 and has simply been cleaned to preserve its appearance. The date 1740 is engraved on a stone on the north face. The spire has been rebuilt and the octagonal stone supporting the cross is engraved with 1845 and PA Dompnier (parish priest of Modane from 1828 to 1855). The height of the south face is 42.40 m.
A magnificent fresco by François Gagneau, painted in 1956 (130 m²), depicts the Virgin Mary taken to heaven body and soul, surrounded by a host of angels. The fresco depicts the daily life of Modane in the 1950s, with its various trades and scenes of life, the beginnings of tourism and leisure activities, and, at the heart of this life, the parish priest guiding his flock, assisted by two vicars, and then the baptized people with their nuns offering the parish church.