Église Saint-Géraud

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

The church was most likely built in the second half of the 12th century, but it subsequently underwent several modifications. One of these consists of the reconstruction of the choir in the 14th century. The building comprises a main nave with two aisles, a little-developed transept and a choir with canted angles flanked by two absidioles. Beneath the transept and sanctuary is found a crypt. The great arches that open onto the aisles rest on columns with sculpted capitals (animals with human heads, sirens, birds...). The square of the transept is defined by four cruciform pillars flanked by engaged columns with likewise sculpted capitals (birds back-to-back, fantastic animals...). This bay is vaulted with a dome on pendentives, whose base is slightly oval. The Romanesque apse was replaced, in the 16th century, by a larger choir. The crypt, as a result of the raising of the square of the transept and of the sanctuary, is not subterranean. Above the roof space is found a fortified chamber whose round loopholes were adapted for the use of firearms. This transformation could date from the 16th century. Above the square of the transept rises the bell tower, a massive square tower, crenellated at its summit.