Tuesday, 21 February 2023

Eglise Saint Ouen les Vignes

Eglise Saint Ouen les Vignes, Indre et Loire, France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.

The Church of Saint Ouen les Vignes is an 11th century building constructed on the ruins of an earlier chapel. Only the nave remains of the older building.

Eglise Saint Ouen les Vignes, Indre et Loire, France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.

In 1584, in the reign of Henri III, the church was augmented with four Romanesque arcades.

Eglise Saint Ouen les Vignes, Indre et Loire, France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.

The church consists of a Romanesque nave covered with a panelled vault supported by visible joists and mouldings from the 15th or 16th century. On the south wall, two semi-cylindrical buttresses, in rather rough masonry, may date from the end of the 11th century. On the west side, a Romanesque door of the same period opens, whose archway decorated with cylindrical mouldings, falling on engaged columns with rather modest capitals. The apse, which was originally flat, was pierced in the 19th century with a round-arched bay opening onto a circular apsidal chapel of the same period. On the north side, a side aisle was added in the middle of the 19th century, opening onto the nave by four arcades. On the outside, a gable in Gothic style with a flamboyant window. At the northwest corner stands a bell tower against which is leaned a wooden porch.

Eglise Saint Ouen les Vignes, Indre et Loire, France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.

2 comments:

Carolyn said...

That church has some unique features. French country churches mostly look alike to me, but I believe I could recognize this one. I believe most of my church architectural vocabulary comes from this blog, so thank you.

Susan said...

Carolyn: It is quite unusual.

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