Eglise Saint-Exupère - Arreau, France
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member sara et gege
N 42° 54.362 E 000° 21.536
31T E 284398 N 4753764
a beautiful church in the city center. une belle eglise dans le centre ville.
Waymark Code: WM13MGZ
Location: Occitanie, France
Date Posted: 01/08/2021
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Alfouine
Views: 1
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En source Merimee:
This building certainly replaced an older chapel and would have been placed where the saint would have been born. The general assemblies of the enclaves of Aure were usually held in this chapel. The archives of the four valleys were kept there. Decommissioned during the Revolution, the church was converted into a store for the military hospital built next door for the service of troops stationed in the valley to defend the border. It was returned to worship in 1857 and restoration work was then carried out by the architect Laurent Barthe.
Preceded by a narthex, the chapel consists of a narrow, oriented nave, ending in the east with a three-sided sanctuary. The narthex is the oldest part, opening with a 12th century Romanesque door with six columns topped with historiated capitals. The eardrum is decorated with a chrism. A stone staircase leaning against the north wall of the narthex, leads to the entrance door of the round turret containing the spiral staircase leading to the belfry. The bell tower surmounts the narthex, rectangular at the bottom, octagonal at the top. Its north wall rises in corbel, supported by a semicircular cradle. A 16th century iron gate separates the narthex from the chapel, resting on a stone sideboard in the center of which is the site of a door. This grid is formed by tapered iron bars, framed between pilasters adorned with decorated iron capitals and friezes, in the Renaissance style. The nave is covered by a ribbed vault, with the addition of liernes and tiercerons. In the axis of the second bay was added a chapel dedicated to the Virgin. The sacristy was built in 1671.

Fr source Merimee :
Cet édifice a certainement remplacé une chapelle plus ancienne et aurait été placé à l'endroit où le saint aurait vu le jour. Les assemblées générales des enclaves d'Aure se tenaient habituellement dans cette chapelle. Les archives des quatre vallées y étaient conservées. Désaffectée sous la Révolution, l'église fut convertie en magasin de l'hôpital militaire bâti à côté pour le service des troupes cantonnées dans la vallée afin de défendre la frontière. Elle est rendue au culte en 1857 et des travaux de restauration sont alors réalisés par l'architecte Laurent Barthe.
Précédée d'un narthex, la chapelle se compose d'une nef étroite, orientée, se terminant à l'est par un sanctuaire à trois pans. Le narthex est la partie la plus ancienne, s'ouvrant par une porte romane du 12e siècle à six colonnes surmontées de chapiteaux historiés. Le tympan est orné d'un chrisme. Un escalier en pierre adossé au mur nord du narthex, conduit à la porte d'entrée de la tourelle ronde contenant l'escalier à vis montant au beffroi. Le clocher surmonte le narthex, rectangulaire en bas, octogonal au sommet. Son mur nord s'élève en encorbellement, porté par un berceau plein cintre. Une grille de fer du 16e siècle sépare le narthex de la chapelle, reposant sur un bahut en pierre au centre duquel est aménagé l'emplacement d'une porte. Cette grille est formée de barreaux fuselés en fer, encadrés entre des pilastres ornés de chapiteaux et de frises en fer décorés, dans le style de la Renaissance. Le vaisseau de la nef est couvert par une voûte en croisée d'ogive, avec adjonction de liernes et de tiercerons. Dans l'axe de la seconde travée fut ajoutée une chapelle dédiée à la Vierge. La sacristie fut bâtie en 1671.

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1545

Age of Church building determined by?: Other reliable source

If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: catholic

Street address of Church:
rue Saint Exupere
Arreau, Occitannie
65440

Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link]

If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed

If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Not listed

Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: Not Listed

Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed
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sara et gege visited Eglise Saint-Exupère - Arreau, France 11/04/2021 sara et gege visited it
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