St-Laurent (Moussan)

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Saint-Laurent de Moussan chapel

The pre-Romanesque chapel of St-Laurent is located not far from the village of Moussan in the northeast of the Aude department in the Occitania region of southern France . It is one of the few church buildings in the south of France where Visigoth influences or aftereffects are suspected.

location

The small church building is located in the northeastern foothills of the Corbières about 1700 meters southwest of the center of Moussan. There are some vineyards in the immediate vicinity.

Building history

The reason for the construction of the little church, which probably dates back to the 9th or early 10th century and is far from any village, could have been provided by a pious hermit. Since the foundations of a Gallo-Roman country estate were discovered nearby , it is assumed that the stones of this villa rustica were used when the chapel was rebuilt.

In the 11th or 12th century the building was extended to the south and a small bell gable was added to the new west facade . At that time the building was about halfway between the Cistercian abbey of Sainte-Marie de Fontfroide and one of its properties in the town of Ouveillan , about 25 kilometers away ; Perhaps the Cistercian monks have taken care of the little church and started an expansion of the building, which is now largely ruinous again. The chapel was recognized as a monument historique in 1966 .

architecture

Exterior construction

With the exception of the west portal and the corner stones, the whole building consists of roughly or not at all hewn rubble stones. The west portal is composed of five lateral stones and a massive marble lintel stone ; all stones may have been reused. The portal is visually highlighted by an overlay arch, which also served static purposes. The three small light openings in the choir area also have beautiful stone arches.

Inside of the chapel

inner space

The chapel is essentially a single-nave and windowless structure about three meters wide and five meters long; In addition, there is a choir area - separated by a triumphal arch and roughly square - each about two meters long, in which there is a small altar. The rear wall and the two side walls of the choir each have a small unglazed window opening. While the nave is covered by a wooden roof structure, the choir area is provided with a barrel vault.

The most important component is the choir arch built from large house stones - partially chamfered at the edges - which is clearly drawn in towards the center on both sides above the profiled transom panels , so that one can speak of a horseshoe arch - a typical feature of pre-Romanesque Visigoth architecture . The arch is partially covered by a second arch made of inclined stone slabs; the other stones on the side or above the arch are not or only roughly worked. In contrast to the more or less chaotic structure of the lateral masonry, most of the stones are arranged in layers above the arching.

  • West facade

  • Choir area

  • Ruins of the extension

  • Triumphal arch

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : St-Laurent (Moussan)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chapelle Saint-Laurent de Moussan in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)

Coordinates: 43 ° 13 '24 "  N , 2 ° 56" 24.2 "  E