St-Léger (cognac)
The church of Saint-Léger in the old town of Cognac is dedicated to the holy Leodegar of Autun and was originally a priory church of the mother monastery of Saint-Léger in Ebreuil ( Auvergne ). The building has been classified as a Monument historique since 1883 .
Building history
After the demolition of a - possibly wooden - previous building, the new construction of today's church began around 1130; In the centuries that followed, however, the church was repeatedly supplemented and redesigned to a considerable extent: In the 13th century the choir and transept were renewed and converted into a three-aisled structure; the rib vaults in the nave were drawn in in place of the former domes in the 14th century. The late Gothic eight-leaf rose window above the west portal is a gift from Jean d'Orleans , the grandfather of Francis I , on the occasion of his release from his 25-year captivity in England in 1440 - it shows distinctive tracery in the flamboyant style . From the end of the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598) until 1622, the church served as a Protestant temple ; During this time, many sculptures and all relics were destroyed. During the time of the Counter Reformation , Benedictine monks occupied the monastery complex and renovated the former priory building; they stayed until the monastery was dissolved during the French Revolution . Since then, the church has served as the town's parish church .
In the years 1845 to 1860 extensive restoration work was carried out under the direction of Paul Abadie , the not entirely undisputed architect of the Saint-Front cathedral in Périgueux and of Sacré-Cœur on Montmartre in Paris due to his insensitive approach to restoring medieval churches ; in cognac he intended to remove the rose window and replace it with arched windows.
architecture
Bell tower
The monumental bell tower, visible from afar, dates from the 2nd half of the 12th century. It is not in the west of the church, but in the middle of the north side and stretches upwards on several floors; it retains its square cross-section up to the top and does not - as is usual in the south of France - merge into an octagon. Its lower storeys still show Romanesque round arches, while the sound openings of the actual bell storey are pointed and thus already betray Gothic influences. The massive character of the building is softened somewhat by discontinued services in the corners of the tower.
West facade
The west facade, which is divided into three parts, is the oldest part of today's church.
Lower level
The most important component of the lower level of the west facade - designed like a three-arched antique triumphal arch - is a beautiful archivolt portal without a tympanum in the style of Saintonge with four arches, the three inner ones of which are decorated with abstract motifs. The outer archivolt, on the other hand, shows the twelve signs of the zodiac and the assigned monthly work :
- Aquarius : a seated figure symbolizes winter
- Pisces : a seated man warms himself by the fire
- Aries : a man prunes the fruit trees
- Taurus : a woman pulling weeds (?)
- Gemini : (the figure is destroyed)
- Cancer : a man reaps the grain
- Leo : a woman washes clothes
- Virgo : a man threshes the grain
- Libra : a farmer harvesting grapes
- Sagittarius : a man collects acorns
- Scorpio : a man feeds a pig
- Capricorn : a man is sitting at the table
Sagittarius and Scorpio are reversed in their order. The crab is more like a turtle; Sagittarius is depicted as a cat - possibly a (secret) symbol of wandering fellows. A scallop refers to the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela - Cognac is on a branch route.
Largely destroyed figure reliefs in the tympanum fields of the smaller lateral false portals show the appearance of Christ (epiphany) after his resurrection and the miracle of Pentecost (?). The lower level closes with a console frieze.
Middle level
The middle level is divided in two by a cornice: the lower part was probably originally decorated with a series of blind arcades that were separated by pilaster strips and inserted columns. Immediately above the portal, one (or three?) Arched windows should have provided some light inside the church; However, this window (s) was replaced in the 15th century by a flamboyant rose that partially overlaps the side half-pillar templates and even protrudes far into the upper part. The most important elements of the tracery rose are so-called fish bubbles (or 'snowshoot'), the curved lines of which create the flame-like, licking ornament, which is reinforced by crabs . The keel arches appearing in the tips also deserve attention. The upper part of the storey is made up of a series of small blind arcades that are only separated by small columns. The middle level also ends at the top with a console frieze.
Upper level
The gable field is undecorated. Two side openings ensure ventilation of the roof structure. On the side there are two small turrets like those found in many church buildings in Poitou further north (e.g. Notre-Dame-la-Grande de Poitiers , St-Pierre d'Airvault ).
inner space
Nave
The three aisles suggested by the three-part portal zone have no correspondence inside the church: the single nave is approx. 31 meters long and approx. 11 meters wide; the two yokes are ribbed . The belt arches are drawn down so that one can assume that the church was originally vaulted with domes . The side walls are loosened up by blind arcades with parapets above.
Transept
The transept, which was added in the 13th century, measures approx. 30 meters in width and approx. 4.75 meters in depth. In the south arm of the transept there is a beautiful Pietà group from the end of the 19th century, as well as an early Baroque panel painting from 1629 depicting the Assumption of Mary . In the north arm of the transept there is a horizontal panel with two episodes from the life of St. Eutropius (baptism of a young woman; beheading of the saint at the beheading of the woman's father); God in heaven demonstratively shows himself above the baptism scene.
Choir
The elevated three-aisled choir area also dates from the 13th century and is divided into two bays, both of which end with ribbed vaults. The altar is raised again by two steps. The altar area impresses with its rich sculptural decor in late Gothic styles, which, however, as a whole is a work of the 19th century. Below the organ (1861) from the workshop of the master organ builder Henri Thébaud in Le Mans there are choir stalls from the 17th century. The window of the flat rear wall shows 19th century stained glass, including four bishops: Ausonius - first bishop of Angoulême ; Eutropius - first bishop of Saintes ; Caprasius - first bishop of Agen and Leodegar - bishop of Autun and church patron. The window is framed by the two prospectuses of the organ.
Priory building
The former cloister buildings ( cloister , refectory , dormitory etc.) are connected to the monastery church to the south. After the destruction by the Protestants, they were rebuilt by Benedictine monks in the 17th century - the Baroque era - partly multi-storey, but in extremely strict, almost ascetic forms. Today the buildings serve as the city archive, the city library and other administrative purposes; they have been classified separately as Monument historique since 1983 .
organ
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The organ goes back to an instrument that was built in 1861 by the organ builder Henri Thébaud. Only the organ case and some pipes are preserved. In 1990 the organ building company Oberthür (Saintes) expanded the instrument.
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literature
- François Marvaud: Études historiques sur la ville de Cognac et l'arrondissement. 1863, ISBN 1-142-91761-4 .
- Thorsten Droste : Poitou. Western France between Poitiers and Angoulême - the Atlantic coast from the Loire to the Gironde. DuMont, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-7701-4456-2 , p. 229.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Église Saint-Léger, Cognac in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ^ Prieuré Saint-Léger, Cognac in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ↑ Information on the organ (French)
Web links
- Website of the city of Cognac - photo + brief information (French)
- Cognac, Saint-Léger - detailed photos + brief information (in French)
- Cognac, Saint-Léger - detail photos
- Cognac, Saint-Léger - panorama photo + brief information (in French)
Coordinates: 45 ° 41 ′ 42.9 ″ N , 0 ° 19 ′ 41.5 ″ W.