The Notre-Dame basilica is located in the commune of La Guerche-de-Bretagne, in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine, 22 km south of Vitré.
A castle chapel belonging to the lords of La Guerche is mentioned from the 10th century, then given to the Saint-Melaine abbey in Rennes.
It was built as a collegiate church in the 13th century.
Gothic in style (although Romanesque elements are visible), the building has been remodeled several times.
The broken triumphal arch dates back to the 13th century. The canted choir, of Norman inspiration, was built in the 14th century. As for the nave, rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th century, it is flanked to the south by six gabled chapels.
In 1869, the architect Arthur Regnault replaced the old porch tower to the west with an imposing neo-Gothic bell tower whose spire, inspired by Cornish models, gave the building a rather unique Breton appearance within the country des Marches… Dormer windows were also added above the bays of the apse. Served by canons until its conversion into a parish church in 1791, the church became a minor basilica in 1951.
Marian pilgrimage sanctuary, the building itself listed in the Inventory, houses a statue of the Virgin from the 17th century in polychrome wood. Many items of furniture, objects of worship, statues and stained glass windows are classified as objects. Among them, stalls made after the Wars of Religion with all different panels, representing scenes from Scripture.
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