St-Pierre-St-Paul (Toulongergues)
The pre-Romanesque church of Toulongergues is a pilgrimage church dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul . It is located four kilometers from Villeneuve in the department of Aveyron in the region Occitania in France . The church, which houses Visigoth relics, is one of the oldest in southern France . The oldest assignment is that Toulongergues belonged to the Lords of Morlhon, the owners of this area, in 1052.
Due to the external appearance, there is hardly a clue to recognize a church in the unusually slim, buttress-free building from the 10th century. The building with the two-tiered gable roof, which hardly stands out from the surrounding agricultural buildings, reveals the floor plan of a church only up close. Corners that are strongly rounded on all sides are more of an architecture for defense towers, which make them more difficult to attack.
The somewhat lower choir, which is square in plan, is partially decorated with wall paintings from the 11th century and is barely drawn in opposite the nave . The ship has a greatly shortened aisle on one side. Window openings are rare in the large wall surfaces. In the southern wall is the "Gate of the Dead", the entrance to the cemetery from the Merovingian era . From the mid-19th century until 1984 when it was renovated, the damaged church was used for other purposes.
literature
- Raymond Lauriere: Eglise de Toulongergues: Un aspect inédit des peintures murales Villeneuve-d'Aveyron. In: Cahiers d'archéologie aveyronnaise Rodez 2000, ISSN 1166-0732 .
Web links
- L'église préromane de Toulongergues (images)
Coordinates: 44 ° 24 '15.7 " N , 2 ° 1' 37.5" E