Eglise Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère - Dordogne, FRA
N 45° 00.588 E 001° 05.291
31T E 349344 N 4985817
One of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in Périgord.
Waymark Code: WMZ99H
Location: Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Date Posted: 10/03/2018
Views: 2
The parish church of Saint-Léon is located in the French village of Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère in the Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, in the Dordogne, about 20 km northwest of Sarlat, and 8 km southwest of the famous Lascaux Cave, on the banks of the Vézère , It is known as one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in Périgord.
Archaeological research in the sixties of the twentieth century excavated the foundations of Gallo-Roman monuments and pre-Christian burials in the church. It probably was the remains of an antique villa rustika.
Even in the early Romanesque era of the 10th century, the nave was built without stone vaulting.
The eastern assembly of the transept, the central tower, the choir apsis and the two choir chapels dates back to the early Romanesque of the 11th century.
In the 12th century, a small priory was founded, the monks of which belonged to the Benedictine order, and was documented in writing for the first time in 1153. The priory, whose church was now priory church, was dependent on the diocese of Sarlat. One of its first bishops was the then Prior of Saint-Léon, Guillaume de Sendreux. The former buildings of the monastery obviously did not survive the religious wars in the 16th century and their devastation and were not rebuilt afterwards.
Source: (
visit link)