Église de Saint-Nectaire - Saint-Nectaire (Puy-de-Dôme), France
N 45° 35.290 E 002° 59.552
31T E 499417 N 5048292
[FR] L'église de Saint-Nectaire, dédiée à Saint Nectaire d'Auvergne, est une église de style roman auvergnat. [EN] Saint-Nectaire Church dates from the 12th century.
Waymark Code: WMYFK2
Location: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Date Posted: 06/10/2018
Views: 3
[FR] Elle fait partie des cinq églises romanes d'Auvergne dites « majeures », avec la basilique Notre-Dame-du-Port à Clermont-Ferrand, l'église Saint-Austremoine d'Issoire, la basilique Notre-Dame d'Orcival et l'église Notre-Dame de Saint-Saturnin.
L'église de Saint-Nectaire fut commencée vers 10801 et a été édifiée principalement entre 1146 et 1178.
Vers 1874 Louis-Clémentin Bruyère, architecture des Monuments Historiques, restaure les tours et le clocher de l’église après leur destruction en 1794.
L'église de Saint-Nectaire, construite en trachyte2 (une pierre volcanique),puis peinte présente un remarquable chevet roman auvergnat constitué d'un étagement de volumes de hauteur croissante.
Son chevet est donc un peu moins développé que celui de l'église Saint-Austremoine d'Issoire car elle ne possède que trois chapelles rayonnantes et pas de chapelle axiale.
La silhouette caractéristique et l'élan vertical des chevets romans auvergnats sont dus au « massif barlong », parallélépipède allongé transversalement qui surmonte la croisée du transept et est couronné par le clocher.
Le chevet possède une décoration remarquable par sa polychromie.
En comparaison avec Issoire, cette décoration est cependant nettement plus sobre et la polychromie combine plutôt les tons noir, brun et beige que le noir et le blanc.
Le chœur, voûté en cul de four, est entouré de six colonnes couronnées de chapiteaux historiés supportant des arcs surhaussés surmontés d'une deuxième série de baies, alternativement ajourées et aveugles. Le chœur était occupé par un autel tombeau, un reliquaire de grande taille pour célébrer sur les restes de saint Nectaire. La liturgie participait de cette mise en scène spatiale.
[EN] The church is named for St. Nectaire, a missionary who is said to have arrived in the Auvergne with St. Austremoine in the fourth century. There is little record of this early period of history, but it seems Nectaire's relics attracted pilgrims and a church was built here at an early date.
What is better known is that in the mid-12th century, Guillaume VII, Count of Auvergne, donated this land to the monks of La Chaise-Dieu, a nearby Benedictine monastery. The monks built a priory here, including the present church, shortly thereafter.
Sadly, the Church of St. Nectaire was badly damaged during the French Revolution and its restoration in the 19th century was not entirely faithful to the original. Nevertheless, much of the original architecture and art remains intact. Significant restoration work was undertaken in the nave in 2008.
he church is constructed of local trachyte stone in various shades of grey, arranged in attractive patterns. On the apse, the stone is cut into a fine inlaid pattern of stars inside circles. Similar decorations can be seen on each end of the transept.
The church's highest point is the octagonal crossing tower, topped with a pyramid-shaped roof. This dates from the 19th century, as do the twin square towers on the west facade. From the east, there is a fine view of the flat "lantern" transept, the semicircular apse with inlaid stars, three radiating chapels, and an apsidal chapel on each transept arm.
The nave is supported by round columns with carved capitals, some retaining traces of original paint. Among the subjects depicted on the capitals are the Temptation of Christ; Moses being saved from crocodile-infested water by Pharaoh's daugher; a donkey playing a lyre and a man riding a goat; and St. Baudime slaying a wild bear.
At the back of the nave is the original narthex, the only one to survive in the region, which has a tall upper gallery. The end walls of each transept have an unusual feature: a triangular arch between two rounded arches, representing the Trinity.
The artistic highlight of the interior for most, however, is the set of six capitals in the choir. Dating from the 12th century like the rest of the church, they are richly carved with biblical and legendary scenes in a charmingly naive style. Much of the original paint remains.
Building Materials: Stone
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Visit Instructions:
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