Auron
Auron is a village belonging to the municipality of Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée in the Maritime Alps ( Alpes-Maritimes department , Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region ). The former Alm - Hamlet in a 1600 m high plateau , which is also the breadbasket of about 7 km from Saint-Etienne was, is now a well-known winter sports resort .
The ski area is located in the outer zone of Mercantour - National Park and begins at an altitude of 1600 m above sea level. NN . Coordinates: 44 ° 15 ' N , 6 ° 55' E
history
Until the 1930s , the Auron plateau was used as an alpine pasture for the village of Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée, which was only accessible via narrow mountain paths. After the first winter sports centers were built in Megève and Sestriere , the General Council of the Département decided to build a comparable center on the Auron plateau, which should also support the reconstruction of the village of Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée, which was largely destroyed by an avalanche in 1929. The first ski competition was held there in 1934, and the first lift (the third in France ) was inaugurated in 1937 . Further expansion was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II and only gained momentum again in the 1960s . After the opening of the neighboring winter sports center Isola in 2000 in 1971, the facilities were completely renewed.
Attractions
The Romanesque Chapelle Saint-Érige from the 13th century is a monument historique . In a legend is told that ERIGE, in the second half of the 5th century bishop of Gap , was came on one of his rides over land in an ambush by robbers and in the valley of Tinée was cornered. But suddenly his horse made a tremendous leap, carried his rider almost 500 m into the air and landed on the plateau of Auron exactly where the chapel now stands. Every year , pilgrimages take place here on July 17th, the birthday of Saint Érige, who was later canonized .
The chapel contains only one nave , which ends in two unequal apses between which a canopy-vaulted niche protrudes. These three inner chapels , each with an altar , are completely painted with glue paint . It was executed in 1451 by an unknown artist, who was undoubtedly of Piedmontese origin.
Right apse:
In the vault above, Christ sits in the mandorla and blesses the book of life . It is surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists : the angel for Matthew , the bull for Luke , the lion for Mark and the eagle for John .
Six episodes from the life of Saint Érige are illustrated below: he kills a dragon; he kneels before Pope Gregory , who holds out his gloved hand to help him up; he washes the feet of three lepers and heals them; Surrounded by four little angels above a closed gate, he listens to the heavenly music, while a monk peers through an opening at the gate; he receives communion from Ysicius, Bishop of Grenoble ; eventually his body is placed in a cart pulled by an ox and the bear from whom he drove the devil.
Left apse: Life of Saint Denis on twelve panels:
Dionysius listens to the preaching apostle Paul ; he heals a diminished blind man; he and his wife and four children are baptized by Paul; Paul ordains him bishop; he preaches to the prefect of Paris; he is scourged; he blesses the holy Domnin, his disciple; he is burned alive; he and his pupils are thrown into the wild animals; he receives his last communion from Christ; he is beheaded and grasps his head in the miter ; finally he marches to a church, the future cathedral of Saint-Denis .
Central niche: Story of Maria Magdalena :
In the vault, Christ holds the open book of life in the mandorla. Magdalena kneels before Christ to the right; to the left of it she rests in a sarcophagus , blessed by Bishop Maximin , next to Martha stands with her hands crossed on her chest, an angel carries away Magdalena's soul.
In the center of the niche, two angels are about to lift Magdalena, including Christ on the cross between the Virgin Mary and John, two rocks frame the painting.
Above the niche, Magdalena in a purple and gold dress preaches the Gospel to the Marseillans , to her right the group of women in a blooming meadow, to her left the group of men. The vestments from the middle of the 5th century are clearly shown.
The north wall is adorned with a monumental Christophorus and a picture that recalls the custom that previously stillborn children were brought to the chapel for emergency baptism: Saint Denis and Saint Érige at the feet of the Virgin Mary with a baby .
literature
- Philippe de Beauchamp: L'art religieux dans les Alpes-Maritimes . C.-Y. Chaudoreille, Édisud, Aix-en-Provence 1990, pp. 81-83, ISBN 2-85744-485-0 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Bailly, Robert, Chapelles de Provence , Horvath, 1988.