In the 11th century, the Hôtel-Dieu Notre-Dame, a modest hostel for pilgrims on the route to Santiago de Compostela, was equipped with a small chapel dedicated to Mary. Over the centuries, the oratory grew in size and importance, becoming a parish and then a deanery. It was in the 16th and 17th centuries that the monument took on the face we know today, with its high tower topped by the inscriptions "Jesus Maria Ave Gacia" and the initials "CHC" for Charles-Henri de Clermont, Comte de Tonnerre. However, these architectural transformations were not without their difficulties: in 1359, English troops set fire to the church, as did Burgundian troops in 1414. In 1556, a huge fire consumed the church again (the base of the tower is still black with soot), and the 1944 bombing destroyed the roof and vaults.