Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer / Church of Our Lady of the Sea - Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône, PACA, France)
N 43° 27.100 E 004° 25.653
31T E 615502 N 4811963
Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer (Church of Our Lady of the Sea), 9th-century fortified church in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue, is an exceptional example of Provençal-Romanesque architecture.
Waymark Code: WM12BWK
Location: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Date Posted: 04/22/2020
Views: 4
Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer (Church of Our Lady of the Sea), 9th-century fortified church in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue, is an exceptional example of Provençal-Romanesque architecture. Dedicated to Our Lady and Three St. Maries (Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome and Mary of Clopas), church is the subject of the pilgrimage to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, and has been classified as a historic monument since 1840.
Visible from afar, this unique fortified church and its imposing donjon-apse with belltower has dominated the town of St.-Maries-de-la-Mer since the beginning of the 9th century, the date of the start of its construction, during the period of transitions between destructive invasions of the Carolingian Empire by the Vikings and the Saracens, and of the foundation of feudalism and its fortified churches and castles to resist it, and of transitions between Carolingian architecture and Romanesque architecture. The appearance of the current church is a result of several reconstructions (eg. in 992, 1061 or 1165-1170) after Saracen and Viking raids, when was church heavily damaged.
Church is a maassive Romanesque single nave structure with quality of medieval fortress. All of the military-style facilities often conceal the the construction. Only the polygonal apse is visible from the outside. The simplicity of the church stands out in its interior decor.
Source: excerpted and translated from
Wikipedia