Notre-Dame de Guîtres abbey

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Former Notre-Dame Abbey in Guîtres

The Notre-Dame de Guîtres Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in the small French town of Guîtres in what is now the Gironde department of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region , dependent on the Cluny Abbey in Burgundy .

history

The abbey was founded in the 11th century; however, the oldest parts of today's church date from the beginning of the 12th century. In the 13th century the upper parts (windows, vaults) of the three-nave church building were redesigned in Gothic style ; only the Romanesque apses and the portal zones on the west and north sides have been preserved. The monastery was dissolved as early as 1774 and the associated outbuildings disappeared during the revolutionary years . Only the church remained as the parish church of the place; it has been recognized as a Monument Historique since 1901 .

architecture

Nave

Mother of God - with its dimensions of approximately 57 meters in length and 15 meters in width, the former was Maria consecrated - Abbey one of the largest Romanesque churches in southwestern France. The height of the original nave is likely to have been significantly lower than the twelve meters achieved by the Gothic conversion. The portal zones on the west and north sides are designed according to the triumphal arch scheme that is often found in the region with side glare portals . The interior is three aisles and has a cross-house ( Transept ) each having a porch on the north and south as well as an ambulatory ( ambulatory ) with radial bands . While the columns and of transverse arches subjected barrel vaults have the ambulatory still Romanesque character, the - almost kapitelllosen - clustered columns and ribbed vaults of the nave unique to the Gothic. Since the vaults of the aisles are only slightly lower than those of the central nave, it almost gives the impression of a hall church .

Also noteworthy are the figurative console frieze above the north transept portal and the nave gate on the north side with its pointed arch, which appears oriental but is found several times in the region .

  • Apses

  • north transept portal

  • Console figures

  • Nave gate

Roof truss

The roof structure of the church, which is usually not open to the public, is made entirely of oak logs ( chène ) and dates from the 15th century.

Furnishing

Lectern (photo by Jean-Auguste Brutails , around 1900)

A lectern ( lutrin ) made of chestnut wood with two large eagle figures (symbol of the Evangelist John ) and a Madonna figure date from the 18th century.

Web links

Commons : Notre-Dame de Guîtres Abbey  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Guîtres, Église Notre-Dame in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)

Coordinates: 45 ° 2 ′ 24.2 ″  N , 0 ° 11 ′ 15 ″  W.