Église Notre-Dame

English translation

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History

Church mentioned in a bull of 1190. Before 1789, the cult of the Virgin attracted a great pilgrimage there. The church results from the transformation, from the 14th century onwards, of a Romanesque building. It is a building of Romanesque and Gothic period, of rectangular plan with three naves separated by massive pillars. The first two bays of the central nave form the choir. They are vaulted with rib vaults with round vault bosses. The ribs of the three eastern bays rest on bundles of engaged colonettes, surmounted by a sculptured capital frieze. The ribs of the vaults rest either on sculptured corbels generally with human heads, or on undecorated capital-friezes. The square porch vaulted with ribs supports the bell tower which originally had only the present first storey with a room vaulted with groin vaults. The second storey housing the bells is of modern period, designed in Renaissance style with, on each face, a large opening with perpendicular mullion and, as its crown, a balustrade decorated at each corner with a fleuron. To the south, access portal in pointed arch with three voussures resting on a sculptured capital-frieze supported by round colonettes resting on prismatic bases. It has a lintel decorated with three crowned heads sculpted in relief. The tympanum has been replaced by stained glass. On either side of the upper arch are two niches with trefoil arch resting on each side on a small sculptured capital supported by a round colonette with prismatic base set on a projecting support decorated with sculptured decorative motifs. This portal still has its old door leaves with typicallly Auvergnat ornate ironwork.