St-Saturnin (Mosnac)
The Romanesque parish church of Saint-Saturnin stands in the small town of Mosnac in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region , France . It is dedicated to the first Bishop of Toulouse , Saturnius , who was martyred around 250 . It has been listed as a Monument Historique since 1990 , the west facade and the apse since 1913.
The construction dates mainly from the 12th century. Originally it was a single-nave church with a round apse . In the fifteenth century, a three- bay aisle was added on the north side, reaching up to the crossing , the western facade of which is smoothly connected to that of the original building. Probably at the same time the church tower was raised and strengthened by thicker side walls. The step portal with its five staggered arches takes up almost the entire width of the original west facade with its pseudo gable slightly protruding from the flat gable roof ; only on the right and left is a relatively small blind portal. The archivolts of the portal arches are decorated with simple, different motifs. On the upper floor above the portal, a blind arcade with five round arches on pilasters flanked by slender half-columns takes up almost the entire width of the facade; only the middle arch contains a window. The archivolts and capitals are ornately decorated. The facade of the side aisle, which was added in the 15th century, is unadorned and broken up by a small door and an arched window; its northern outer wall has three small windows.
The outside of the semicircular apse adjoining the crossing that supports the mighty choir tower is extremely richly decorated. It is structured by seven round arches resting on alternating half-columns and pilasters; the capitals of the half-columns are figuratively decorated. The two outer and middle arches contain small arched windows at the top to illuminate the choir area. The consoles of it under the eaves surrounding cornice are with stone representations of grasping , centaurs and lions adorned the metopes with palm leaves and foliage tendrils.
The compact tower has a square floor plan and a tiled pyramid roof . In the upper part, an arched window with two narrow window slots opens on each side. To prevent a collapse, probably in the 15th century, the outer wall was reinforced on its north and south sides by adding a second wall, which rests in the lower part on a blind arcade with two arches on a central half-column. The original wall is still visible in this area and still has its original Romanesque window that illuminates the crossing. Under the roof, the tower has three square openings on each side, which once served for observation and defense, today they function as sound hatches . The bronze bell was cast in 1789; it has been registered as a Monument historique since 1911 .
Furnishing
Inside the church, the crossing and the chancel in the apse are richly painted. On the southern long wall of the nave , supported by mighty pillars, there are two large, unadorned windows and on the inside wall paintings from the Romanesque period. The last yoke of the aisle is decorated with paintings dedicated to Mary (mother of Jesus) .
Detail on the apse
Nave
Aisle
Footnotes
- ^ Eglise Saint-Saturnin, Mosnac, in the Base Mérimée
- ^ L'église Saint-Saturnin, on the municipality's website
- ^ Mosnac, église Saint-Saturnin, cloche ; in the base Palissy (French)
Web links
- Église Saint-Saturnin, Mosnac in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- http://www.commune-mosnac.fr
Coordinates: 45 ° 30 ′ 19.4 " N , 0 ° 31 ′ 21.5" W.