Ancienne église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption
ChurchHidden Treasure
Ancienne église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption, located in Trélissac (Dordogne), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Trélissac, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 45.1919, 0.7783
- Mérimée Reference
- PA24000045
A medieval vestige in the heart of the Périgord region, this former 15th-century church, redesigned by Paul Abadie, hides an astonishing story: an entire village was moved to deprive it of its parish vocation.
History
Nestling in the commune of Trélissac, on the outskirts of Périgueux, the former church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption is one of those discreet monuments that harbour more history than it first appears. A late Gothic building dating from the 15th century, it is distinguished by its carefully composed layout: a bell tower-porch that invites you to cross the threshold, a two-bay nave flanked by side chapels, and a pentagonal choir that harmoniously closes off the interior. This plan, both compact and hierarchical, is characteristic of Périgord rural churches of the late Middle Ages, where liturgical functionality and sober construction are combined with a certain elegance. What really sets Notre-Dame de l'Assomption apart is the work of a renowned architect: Paul Abadie, a key figure in 19th-century French religious architecture and the future designer of the Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre. In 1860, he supervised a remodelling of the building - raising the bell tower, modifying the openings - in the neo-medieval spirit then in vogue. This dual Gothic-Neo-Gothic palimpsest gives the church a rare architectural texture, where each stone reflects two eras. But it is perhaps its singular destiny that strikes the imagination the most. When the neighbouring château of the wealthy Alfred Magne was extended, the original village of Trélissac was literally moved a few hundred metres in 1869, condemning the church to the loss of its community and parish function. Left to its own devices and deprived of maintenance, its bell tower and porch collapsed, leaving a truncated edifice that still exudes an austere, melancholy presence. Now protected as a Historic Monument since 2004, the church offers visitors an experience of raw authenticity: walls that have survived the upheavals of history, architecture frozen between two centuries, and the particular silence of disused sacred places. The surrounding Périgord setting, with its wooded hillsides and proximity to the Isle valley, reinforces this feeling of an intimate encounter with a past that has been preserved against all odds.
Architecture
The layout of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption is typical of small rural Gothic churches in Périgord: a longitudinal axis, with a nave of two bays framed by side chapels separated from the aisles by pillars. These chapels, framing the bays, create an interior space that is wider than the exterior would suggest, offering a feeling of breathability and depth. The pentagonal chancel that completes the ensemble is one of the building's most meticulous features: this five-sided shape, inherited from the Radiant Gothic style adapted to rural realities, harmoniously diffuses light around the central liturgical space. The bell tower-porch, which has now disappeared, was the monumental entrance to the building. Its function was twofold: symbolic, marking the passage between the secular world and the sanctuary; and practical, serving as a shelter for the faithful and as a bell tower from which to hang the parish bells. The addition by Paul Abadie in 1860 further accentuated this vertical effect, making the church part of the dominant neo-Gothic tradition at the time. The changes made to the openings at the same time bear witness to Abadie's influence, as he favoured slimmer openings with regularised lines in a "corrected Gothic" style. The materials used are typical of Périgord construction: golden limestone from the region, carefully cut for the main architectural elements, and probably combined with rubble for the common parts of the walls. Even in its current, incomplete state, this matching gives the building a beautiful chromatic coherence with the surrounding Dordogne landscape.
Related Figures
Paul Abadie — architecte diocésain de la Dordogne, maître d'œuvre du remaniement de 1860, futur architecte du Sacré-Cœur de MontmartreVauthier — architecte exécutant chargé de la réalisation du projet d'Abadie sur le chantier de 1860Alfred Magne — propriétaire du château voisin, commanditaire du déplacement du village de Trélissac en 1869, responsable indirect de la désaffectation de l'église
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption located?
Ancienne église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption is located in Trélissac, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Ancienne église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption built?
Ancienne église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancienne église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption open to visitors?
Ancienne église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption is currently closed to visitors.