Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption (Longeville-sur-Mer)

Parish Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption

inner space

Look into the choir

The Catholic parish church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption (Assumption of Mary) in Longeville-sur-Mer , a municipality in the Vendée department in the French region of Pays de la Loire , was originally built in the Romanesque style at the end of the 12th century . In 1927, the church was added to the list of architectural monuments in France as Monument historique .

history

The church of Longeville was once part of a priory belonging to the Benedictine abbey of Sainte-Croix in Talmont-Saint-Hilaire . The choir and the transept come from the first construction phase , the nave is from the Gothic period. During the Huguenot Wars , the church was set on fire in 1568. It was not until 1608 that a decision was made to restore the church after the visit of the then Bishop of Luçon and later Cardinal Richelieu . During the revolution the church was used as a weapons and ammunition depot.

architecture

Exterior construction

The square bell tower rises above the crossing and was given its slate-covered pyramid roof at the end of the 19th century . The four corners of the tower are covered with small lantern-like structures. Narrow buttresses divide the nave, the roof approach a number proceeds highly weathered corbels . A round arch portal framed by five unadorned archivolts is cut into the simple west facade . A cornice, also resting on heavily weathered corbels, runs above the portal . A narrow pointed arch window opens above it.

inner space

The church is built on the plan of a Latin cross . The single nave is divided into three bays and ends in a recently closed choir in the east. The choir and transept are vaulted by slightly tapered barrels . The choir is followed by the Sacred Heart Chapel on the left and the sacristy on the right. The crossing is spanned by a dome over which the bell tower rises. The belt arches under the dome are caught by consoles with carved decoration. The ribbed vaults in the nave rest on pillars with pillars that are decorated with leaf and bud capitals.