Caen: Abbaye aux Hommes (2 photos)

(1) This abbey - dedicated to Saint-Etienne (Saint Stephen) - was founded in 1063 to provide a suitable burial place for William the Conqueror.  A magnificent building. 

A further abbey, the Abbaye aux Dames, was built in Caen simultaneously and was to house William's wife.

(2)  Opposite the abbey is the dramatic but ruined church of Saint-Etienne-le Vieux.  The attribute of le-Vieux (the elder) served to indicate that it predated the great Abbey: it is thought to date back to the 10th century.