Baptistery (Riez)

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Baptistery, view from the south

The Baptistery of Riez is a baptistery in Riez , a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the French region of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur . It is dated to the 5th or 6th century and is one of the oldest Christian structures in France. As early as 1840, the baptistery was included in the list of architectural monuments ( Base Mérimée ) in France as a monument historique .

history

The early Christian baptistery was probably built in the 5th or 6th century. In the west it joined the episcopal church, the construction of which is traced back to the 5th century, when the diocese of Riez was founded. Only remnants of the foundation walls of the former cathedral have survived. During the French Revolution the diocese was dissolved.

architecture

The outer walls of the building have a square plan. In the interior of the building enclosing an octagon , in the corners of eight columns of granite are set. These are spolia from Roman times and have Corinthian marble capitals . The wall sides are open to niches. The eight-part domed vault above was only built in the 12th century and belongs to the Romanesque construction phase. In the middle there is an octagonal baptismal font set deep into the floor. There the baptized people were immersed in the water with their whole bodies.

The baptistery is now used as a lapidarium , in which ancient and early medieval architectural fragments are exhibited. Due to the excavations that are taking place on the site, the Baptistery is currently (2011) inaccessible.

  • dome

  • Columns with Corinthian capitals

  • Corinthian capitals

  • Baptismal font set into the floor

literature

  • Thorsten Droste : Dauphiné and Haute-Provence. Discovery trips between the Rhône and the Alps, from Lyon to the Verdon Gorge . DuMont Art Guide, Cologne 1992, ISBN 3-7701-2408-1 , p. 327.
  • Thorsten Droste: Provence. A companion to the art places and natural beauties in the sunny country of France . DuMont Art Travel Guide, Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-7701-3927-5 , pp. 284–285.

Web links

Commons : Baptistery (Riez)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Baptistère dit le Panthéon (chapelle circulaire) in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)

Coordinates: 43 ° 48 ′ 57 "  N , 6 ° 5 ′ 23.5"  E