St-Michel (Saint-Michel (Charente))
St-Michel is a Roman Catholic church in Saint Michel ( department Charente ) in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France . The church was classified as a monument historique in 1840 .
description
The church, which was built in the first half of the 12th century and consecrated to the Archangel Michael , is an octagonal building with a wreath of smaller apses; the former main apse is highlighted by six set columns. The pillar- less dome of the building, underpinned by vaulted ribs, has a diameter of about 13 meters and opens in the middle to a lantern attachment with an inner diameter of about one meter, which - in addition to eight narrow windows - illuminates the round dome. The finely crafted capitals of the interior show vegetal and braid-like shapes. A highlight of Romanesque sculpture is the tympanum above the entrance portal, in which the Archangel Michael - hurrying over with outstretched wings and waving robe - kills a lindworm writhing on the ground with a lance . The side view of the angel is unusual, whose sweeping step reminds of the prophet Isaiah from the former portal of the abbey church of Souillac , who was written around the same time . The archivolts adorned with vegetable motifs and braided ribbon patterns are also noteworthy. The church has been recognized as a monument historique since 1840 . It was extensively restored in the 1850s by Paul Abadie , the future architect of Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre - the separate bell tower ( clocher ) is an addition from that period.
literature
- Charles Daras: Angoumois roman. Zodiaque, La Pierre-qui-Vire 1961, ISBN 978-3-295-18044-2 .
- Thorsten Droste : Poitou. Western France between Poitiers and Angoulême - the Atlantic coast from the Loire to the Gironde. DuMont, Cologne 1999, pp. 235f, ISBN 3-7701-4456-2 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ St-Michel in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Coordinates: 45 ° 38 ′ 32.6 " N , 0 ° 6 ′ 20.2" E