Saint-Seurin basilica

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Facade of the basilica
Chancel of the basilica

The Saint-Seurin Basilica ( French Basilique St-Seurin ) is a Roman Catholic church in Bordeaux in southwest France . It belongs to the archbishopric of Bordeaux and is named after the bishop and patron saint of Bordeaux Severin . It is considered a station on the Via Turonensis Way of St. James and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998 .

history

A first Christian chapel can be archaeologically documented for the 5th century. The chapel was destroyed during the Norman invasion of the 9th century.

The current church was built in the 11th century as a single-nave , rectangular basilica with an apse . It was expanded in the 13th century and provided with an impressive facade with fourteen statues depicting the apostles. Many pilgrims came in the 14th and 15th centuries as a station on the Way of St. James and the church was enlarged with side chapels, the construction of the Notre Dame de la Rose chapel and the altar consecrated by Archbishop Pey Berland in 1444 are significant .

The building was badly damaged by the collapse of some vaults in 1698. In the 18th century, a more strongly supported vault was built and the floor was raised by three meters, and a crypt was laid below it , in which an early Christian cemetery was exposed. So today only the vestibule, the crypt and the base of the tower in Romanesque style are preserved. The Merovingian period crypt has several Gallo-Roman capitals and stone sarcophagi. In the 19th century, the west facade was redesigned in the neo-Romanesque style by the architect Pierre Alexandre Poitevin , while the sculptor Dominique Fortuné Maggesi designed the figures. The stained glass windows were created after 1840.

A square bell tower rises above the old portico. A belfry was built on the south side of the church.

Appreciation

The church has been designated as a monument historique since 1840 . In 1873 Pope Pius IX raised the church to the rank of minor basilica . In 1998 it was designated a World Heritage Site with the Camino de Santiago.

Web links

Commons : Saint-Seurin Basilica  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The church of St Seurin and its crypt on caruso33.net
  2. ^ Eglise Saint-Seurin
  3. ^ Basilique Saint-Seurin on gcatholic.org

Coordinates: 44 ° 50 ′ 35.6 ″  N , 0 ° 35 ′ 8.6 ″  W.