Celestine Church (Avignon)
The Cölestinerkirche (French: Église des Célestins ) in Avignon is a Gothic church on the Place des Corps-Saints . It was founded in 1389 on the initiative of the antipope Clement VII and King Charles VI. built at the burial site of Peter of Luxembourg . Later on, Saint-Bénézet , Clement VII and numerous cardinals also found their final resting place here .
The church has been classified as a Monument historique since June 8, 1914 .
history
By order of Clement VII in 1389, Charles VI. lay the foundation stone of the church. The construction dragged on until the fifteenth century. In 1693, the relics of Saint-Bénézet were moved to the building. Up until the French Revolution, the church was one of the most magnificent buildings in the city. After it was demolished and converted into barracks in the late eighteenth century, the city bought it back in 1930 and has been carrying out restoration work ever since.
construction
The construction of the church took a long time. In 1389 a wooden chapel was built on the grave of Peter of Luxembourg († 1387). The current church was built between 1395 and 1452. The two monasteries followed in the middle of the fifteenth century. The high altar of the St-Pierre Chapel was reworked in the Baroque style in 1625 by François de Royers de La Valfrenière . Jean Péru built the Saint-Bénézet chapel in 1690. The entrance portals of the church and the monastery date to the third quarter of the seventeenth century.
building
- Church: The first building project was very ambitious. The church was designed as a seven-aisled basilica with transept and apse (without ambulatory ). This plan was never completed. Only three of the ships have been completed, the first two of which will be occupied by the Order Choir . The apse contains a remarkable group of keystones , with a Christ in a mandorla formed from flying cherubs and framed with prophets. To the south was the baroque chapel of Saint-Bénezet. It was destroyed during the revolution. The unburned furniture was transferred to Saint-Didier and the Avignon Cathedral .
- Chapel of St Pierre de Luxembourg: nothing has remained of the originally Baroque decor since it was used for military purposes in the nineteenth century. The chapel served as a mausoleum for Saint Pierre de Luxembourg. The only thing that still reminds of this aspect is a precious votive offering from the seventeenth century, which is now in the Musée Calvet . The building was nevertheless considered the most important work of the architect Valfrenière.
- Other buildings: Next to the church is a simple monastery building from the fifteenth century which encloses a courtyard. Nothing has been preserved from the interior.
Works of art
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- in the collegiate church of Saint-Didier:
- Carrying the cross (bas-relief of the main altar) by Francesco Laurana , first Renaissance work west of the Alps
- Multi-colored marble high altar, made by Jean-Baptiste II Péru in 1750.
- Relics of Peter of Luxembourg and Bénezet, with a statue of the latter by Jean Péru
- several paintings
- in the cathedral:
- Three allegorical figures of the Virtues of St. Bénezet, formerly in the chapel of the same name
- several paintings
- Chapel of the Pénitents Noirs
- Painting of St. Roch and St. Sebastian, by Pierre Parrocel .
- in the Musée Calvet:
- recumbent grave figures from papal and cardinal graves
- several paintings
- in the Musée Condé in Chantilly :
- Altarpiece of the Madonna of the Cadard family by Enguerrand Quarton
- in the Ceccano media library in Avignon:
- some works in the extensive Cölestiner library, including an illuminated prayer book from Pope Clement VII.
literature
- Paul Achard: Dictionnaire historique des rues et places de la ville d'Avignon. Ed. Seguin aîné, Avignon 1857.
- Joseph Girard: Evocation du Vieil Avignon. Les Éditions de Minuit, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-7073-1353-X .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry no. PA00081826 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Coordinates: 43 ° 56 ′ 37 ″ N , 4 ° 48 ′ 28 ″ E