St-Hymetière
The Saint-Hymetière church is located a little outside and west of the small French farming village of the same name, in Revermont , in the Franche-Comté region , in the Jura department , about 36 km northeast of Bourg-en-Bresse and about 35 km south of Lons-le -Saunier . It impresses with its primeval appearance of the early Romanesque, surrounded by an atmospheric burial ground, in the midst of a charming rural landscape of the French Jura, in the valley of the Valouse .
History
Origins in pre-Romanesque
Legend has it that in the 6th century a monk named Hymetière left his Condat monastery to retire with some of his companions and followers in the wasteland of the Valouse valley. He founded a hermitage there . After some time of meditation, preaching and a meager life, he died there. The veneration of his bones was followed by his appointment as a saint.
The hermitage developed into the construction and operation of a monastery, around which a small village was soon grouped. The Saint-Hymetière priory was first mentioned in writing in 875 , in a diploma issued by the then Roman Emperor Charles II (the Bald). The priory followed the rules of St. Augustine and was dependent on the church of Saint-Vincent de Mâcon . It can be assumed that the monastery already had a small oratory , the foundation walls of which may be under the current church.
Early romance
The church structure, as it essentially appears today, is an early Romanesque building from the 11th century. The original substance has been preserved: the transept with its vaults, the choir apse with vault, the south transept chapel with vault, the south aisle with vault, and most of the west facade. The former round pillars of the ship are still there, but can no longer be seen because of the later walling.
The church has been a priory church since it was built. The monastery buildings still existed from earlier times and were still maintained and adapted according to requirements, probably until they were destroyed in the 15th century. In the third yoke of the south aisle there was a doorway now walled up, which indicates that a monastery was built on the site.
Extensive damage in the 15th century
The priory had probably survived the Hundred Years War (1339–1453) to a fair degree, at least the sources indicate no significant war damage. Towards the end of the Burgundian Wars (1474–1477), the then King Louis XI. (the wise) desires, among other things towards the county of Burgundy, the Franche-Comté , which was part of the Roman Empire of the German Nation . In the course of the siege around Nancy in 1477 troops of Louis XI moved. (also called L'Araigne = "The Spider") through here, and set the village and the priory Saint-Hymetière, with its church, on fire. The devastation was terrible. The village was completely cremated, as were the priory buildings. All immediately burning parts of the church, such as the entire roof structure, immediately went up in flames. In addition, however, the stone vaults of the central aisle and the north aisle collapsed, and the outer wall of the north aisle and parts of the facade also collapsed due to the masses of rubble and the heat. The northern transept chapel also fell victim to the flames. In addition to the damage in the village and in the priory that directly affected the residents, the damage to the church could still be classified as repairable.
It took at least a century and a half for them to be fully restored. It is very likely, however, that the relatively intact transept, with choir and chapel, was soon used again by the village community.
Renovations until the 17th century
Due to the huge rubble of the pillage, the villagers probably first set about rebuilding their homes. It was best to move a little further away from the previous location to the east. There the new village of Saint-Hymetière was born. The priory was obviously abandoned then.
The sources indicate that the restoration and general renovation of the village church, the result of which defines the image of the church today, did not take place until the 17th century. At that time it was proceeded so cautiously that today it is hardly possible to distinguish the new components from the additions.
In the north aisle, the outer wall was completely renewed with two buttresses. The cylindrical cross-sections of the pillars of the central nave were enlarged and reinforced at right angles with new masonry. The high walls of the central nave were renewed or thickened. Three buttresses were added to the south wall due to cracks and a small narthex was built over the portal . The central nave and the north aisle have been newly vaulted. The northern transept chapel has not been renewed.
Modern times
The addition of a sacristy in place of the destroyed northern transept chapel has recently taken place. Only later did the state classify the church building as a "Monument Historique" and put it under monument protection . From the point of view of monument preservation , the building was subjected to modern conservation methods, which included some corrections and measures to preserve the building fabric. For example, the closure of the arch opening between the south aisle and the transept, which was made in the 17th century, was reversed. Various walled-up window openings have also been exposed.
The church was declared a monument historique on October 22, 2013 .
The building today
Layout
Initially some dimensions:
- Longhouse: length × width (without buttresses) 10.10 × 14.15 m
- Transept: length × width (without buttresses) 16.50 × 5.90 m
- Total length: nave + transept + choir (without portal roofing) 20.70 m
The floor plan shows in different colors the masonry cross-sections of the original church building from the transept, the choir with its southern side chapel and the nave, from the central nave with its round columns, and from the southern aisle, all from the 11th century.
Furthermore, the reconstructions and reinforcements of the nave with its north aisle are shown, both from the 17th century. Instead of the collapsed northern side chapel, a sacristy has been added in modern times.
outer appearance
The longhouse
The long house impresses with its barn-like overall shape based on the principle of "everything under one roof". It almost completely dispenses with an external structure, in which one can read off the internal division into ships and yokes. The large gable roof surfaces, inclined by around 40 degrees, have no interruptions or offsets. The eaves height on the long sides is just one storey high, but the height of the roof ridge is more than double the height.
The few accessories on the walls include the small arched windows on all sides, an "ox eye" in the middle of the gable of the facade, and the subsequently added reinforcements with buttresses, beveled on the top and partly covered with roof tiles. The front of the buttress on the right-hand corner of the facade runs completely at an angle, spanning almost two meters at the bottom and tapering to zero at the top. In addition, there are the two portals, which are framed with simple, profiled ogival garments, the main portal with tiered archivolts . Both doors have been retrofitted with small open vestibules, arched with a pointed arch at the main portal and covered with a gable roof, arched with round arches at the south portal and covered with a monopitch roof. The floor in the narthex of the main portal is covered with old tombstones. In the first “yoke” of the south wall there are still remains of two pilaster strips that only reach half the height of the wall. One of the two pilaster strips, the one on the corner of the building, is not completely covered by the buttress that was added later. In the third yoke of the south wall you can see the contour of a walled up round arched door and a right-angled, slim niche that almost reaches the eaves. These irregularities in the south wall are evidence of the additions to the former convent building.
On the west facade there are remains of two wide pilaster strips that once reached from the floor to under the gable eaves and divided the large gable into three roughly equal sections. The left pilaster is particularly noticeable because its formerly right-angled left edge is heavily "crumbled". It is the "break edge" that was created arbitrarily when the north aisle collapsed after the fire in the 15th century. During the later renewal work, which was probably urgent, the certainly expensive restoration of the pilaster strip was dispensed with.
What is striking about the facade is that the two small, arched windows in the side aisles have been arranged differently. The window of the north aisle is lower and shifted further inwards than the one opposite. This is also due to the later, less careful renovation of the north aisle.
Transept, choir and chapel
The eastern component group consisting of transept, tower, choir apse and a chapel will remind some of the so-called "Auvergne Pyramid", typical of the Romanesque churches in Auvergne, especially due to the tower base of the crossing protruding from the roof. But that has nothing to do with the “Massif Barlong” in Auvergne. The view of this group from the south-east is particularly impressive due to its clear, straightforward design language. The transept arms and the head of the choir, all of the same width as the crossing, fit precisely against the tower base and touch each other on a vertical line. The eaves of these three parts of the building are at the same height and therefore also meet there. The chapel of the southern arm of the transept remains with its ridge well below the aforementioned eaves height.
The choir, which protrudes far with its apse, is consistently structured vertically, without any horizontal interruption. Eight pilaster strips reaching under the eaves alternate with wall recesses that are hardly wider. At the top of the pilaster strips, their surfaces are connected to one another. Two small blind arcades are attached to each connection, and where their arches come together, small beveled corbels are attached. In three of the pilaster strips, slender, arched window openings are cut out about halfway up, with no accompanying decorations. The apse of the transept chapel has the same structure as the choir, but everything is reduced there due to its smaller size. There are only six pilaster strips, but also three smaller windows.
The south gable wall of the transept uses the same design motif again. Four pilaster strips, the outer ones are slightly wider, form three recessed spaces which, just before they hit the verges, again contain the two small blind arcades. At the top in the middle space you can see the contours of a former arched window that was walled up flush with the surface. It was obviously followed by today's arched, significantly larger and deeper window. Since this window did not fit into the central space between the pilaster strips, one side was roughly knocked off and the sharp edge became an irregularly jagged break edge.
In the creation of the outer wall of the northern arm of the transept one seems to have proceeded somewhat “neglectively” compared to the southern one. The gable wall, for example, has no decorative surface design, such as pilaster strips. The masonry here also consists of different stone formats in a "wild" bond. At the foot of the gable wall, which extends a little around the corner, there is a beveled approximately 1.50 meter high plinth, a detail that is also known in defense architecture. One could also get the idea that these parts are parts of an older predecessor of the church. The location on the north side has ensured that the walls are very dark, in some areas almost black, due to the influence of moisture and the lack of sunlight.
The outer contour of the square tower base corresponds exactly to that of the crossing and protrudes quite a bit over the surrounding roof surfaces and ridges. On top of it sits an equilateral octagonal tower, of which four of its wall sides coincide exactly with the four wall surfaces of the base and merge into one another. The four corners of the base protruding beyond the outline of the octagon are covered on the top with sloping roof surfaces. The bell chamber is located in the octagonal room. Eight sound hatches with Romanesque arches are cut out in the upper area of the outer walls. The square tower spire begins above a concluding profiled cantilever profile, the corners of which are cut vertically to match the octagon below. The four roof surfaces are curved in Baroque style and on top carry a much smaller square lantern, which is covered again in Baroque shapes at the top and is crowned with a helmet tip, a ball and a cross.
The exposed masonry of most of the original structural members consists of quarry stone material, in different layer thicknesses, which, however, run over the walls at a uniform height. So the stones have been selected and shaped. The surfaces of the younger components look different. But there, as well as inside, the stones have any format that is walled up in a “wild” bond. The original light color has changed over the years, depending on the intensity of the weather, from light beige to light gray to dark gray.
The covering of the roof surface consists of slightly reddish flat stone slabs, which rest on the eaves on simply profiled cantilever cornices and protrude slightly so that the dripping rainwater does not run against the walls. The spire and the lantern on it are covered with red, small-format brick shingles.
Interior
The three-bay and three-aisled nave only has the original wall design and vaulting in the south aisle . The yoke is divided there with semicircular supports on the outer wall and with full round supports opposite, which have at least partially disappeared in right-angled walls. The outer half-columns have the same thickness as those of the former full round columns and, like these, are closed on the top with profiled transom plates .
The old barrel vault with a semicircular cross-section rests on the arcade arches on the outer wall and the dividing arches of the ships. It is additionally supported by two belt arches which transfer their loads to the semicircular columns and the pillars of the main nave . In order to compensate for the difference in height between the strut plates of the pillars and the approach of the belt arches, pieces of pillar templates are inserted, with cross-sections like those of the belt arches and a good half a meter long.
On the new outer wall of the north aisle there are no such structures with columns or arcades. The opposite former round pillars of the main nave are now rectangular due to the later walling.
The south aisle is illuminated by two small arched window openings in the first yoke, one in the south wall, the second across the corner in the west wall. In the second yoke there is a third rectangular window above the southern door. In the third yoke you can see the contours of a former doorway in the outer wall, which is completely walled up.
The inside of the main nave is 3.90 m wide, 9.15 m long and about 7.50 m high at the apex. The traces of the original semicircular vault can be seen on its front wall. The new coverings of the central nave and the north aisle have pointed barrel vaults , which are also supported by pointed belt arches. Their loads rest on the new northern outer wall, thicker than their predecessor, and reinforced on the outside with two buttresses , and on the new or at least heavily thickened walls of the main nave. The now rectangular pillars of the central nave, which still contain the round supports of the original structure inside, are spanned by dividing arches the thickness of the pillars. On the left side of the ship these arches are significantly lower than on the opposite side. The side walls of the central nave rise up to the beginning of the vault, almost twice as high as the left-hand partition arches. The beginning of the vault is marked with a simply profiled cantilever cornice , which also continues over the head and rear walls of the main nave. The two strong belt arches begin on double-stepped and profiled corbels. Oddly enough, the curvatures of the chords do not match those of the vault. To compensate for this, the belt arches had to be bricked up, increasing towards the top.
The arched opening in the head wall of the central nave is significantly narrower than in the original state, when it was bordered by the round pillars. This fact and its shift from the center of the ship is related to the asymmetrical reinforcements of the ship's walls and pillars, which resulted in a shift of the ship's interior to the south. The main nave has a single circular window that directly illuminates it, namely a so-called “ox eye”, in the middle above the entrance portal. The rest of the light is only indirect, through the three windows in the south aisle and two in the north aisle.
The structural elements east of the ships essentially still have their original substance. The inside of the transept is 14.90 m long and 4.15 m wide. The separated square crossing has a dome vaulting with relatively small trumpets that lead to an octagon with four long and four short sides. Between the lower edge of the round dome and the non-equilateral octagon, a tambour tries to mediate between the two shapes. If you take a closer look, you can see a frieze of small blind arcade arches all around on this tambour , which sit on tiny corbels, similar to those in the choir. The hemispherical shape of the dome appears to be slightly pointed towards the middle. The crossing is demarcated from the transept arms with semicircular arches that stand on the transom plates of the round and semicircular columns. The transept arms are almost square in plan and covered with barrel vaults. The transept is illuminated directly from a window in the gable walls of the transept arms.
The floor plan of the choir consists of a slightly distorted rectangle and a seamlessly attached semicircle to the apse, with a width of 4.00 m and a depth of 4.30 m. The dimensions of the semicircular triumphal arch correspond to those of the lateral crossing arches . The walls of the choir are divided vertically with two rectangular pillars and four half round pillars, somewhat slimmer than those of the naves. A total of five blind arcade arches rest on the slightly cantilever stones. Immediately above the bricks of the arches, the entire choir area is surrounded by a frieze of small and shallow blind arcades, the arches of which sit on tiny corbels. Immediately above this begins the barrel vault of the choir, which connects to the apse in the shape of a quarter ball. Shortly before the triumphal arch, one climbs three steps to the higher floor of the choir. The same steps of difference have to be overcome from the side aisles into the transept and from the crossing to the transept arms.
The only surviving chapel , which opens in the south arm of the transept, has an inner dimension of 2.20 × 2.80 m. The interior design roughly corresponds to that of the choir room, it is only significantly smaller and dispenses with structures with pillars and arcades. The choir room and the chapel are each illuminated with three arched windows, which do without any sculptural decoration .
In the corner between the north arm of the transept and the choir, the chapel originally located there , which was destroyed in the fire in the 15th century, was replaced by the modern, polygonal addition of a sacristy and connected to the choir through a door. The fact that such a chapel actually existed here is proven by an old opening in the transept wall, the size and location of which corresponds exactly to the opening of the southern transept chapel.
The archaic structures of the wall and vault surfaces, especially those of the original building, put the visitor in the mood for the old age of the church. The structural elements of the 11th century consist of very flat rubble stone , shaped almost like bricks, which indicates a selected quality or appropriate processing of the stones. The color of these stones changes from almost white through various shades of brown to dark brown. The wall joints are mostly tinted dark. The wall surfaces of the renewed components look a little different. Apart from arches and vaults, the stone formats are not sorted or uniformly processed, but they change as they came into the hand of the bricklayer, who then walled them up in the so-called "wild" bond. You can see from this that the funds for the repair work at that time were very limited. The builders no longer had a monastery or an order behind them. The surfaces of this masonry are glazed in a uniform light shade .
literature
- The Green Guide, Burgundy, French Jura. Michelin, Reise-Verlag, 2004 edition, ISBN 2-06-000230-3 , ISSN 0763-1375
Web links
- [1] images
- [2] Images
- [3] Images
- [4]
- the village church of Saint-Hymetière fr. In: Structurae
Coordinates: 46 ° 21 ′ 37 ″ N , 5 ° 33 ′ 18.5 ″ E