Church of Our Lady in Luzenac / L'Eglise de Notre-Dame-de-Luzenac-de-Moulis (Ariege, France)
N 42° 57.242 E 001° 04.777
31T E 343353 N 4757499
Interesting and in shape very unusual Romanesque church of Our Lady (Eglise de Notre-Dame) you can find in Luzenac, small village in Ariege department in south-western France...
Waymark Code: WM6P9Q
Location: France
Date Posted: 06/30/2009
Views: 9
Romanesque parish church of Our Lady (L'Eglise de Notre-Dame-de-Luzenac-de-Moulis), built in XIIth century and expanded in the XVth century, is a beautiful architectural ensemble with a dodecagonal bellfry. The bell tower, which is unique not only in Ariège, but it is generally quite rare in the Christian architecture.
The church's main nave is terminated by a close round apse. A little ahead of the choir rises a bell tower, which appears round - but it is dodecagonal, with two-storey curved bays separated by twin columns and topped by a conical roof built from large stones. The church has three naves. Only the central nave is Romanesque, the collaterals were added to the XIVth and XVth centuries. The nave's vault arches are supported by square pillars. On the west is Romanesque portal decorated by two round archivolts, decorated by sculpted palmettes and small human heads.