Eglise Notre-Dame de Cunault
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Notre-Dame de Cunault, located in Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault (Maine-et-Loire), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.3295, -0.2007
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00109380
The Romanesque jewel of the Loire Valley, the church at Cunault boasts a strikingly high nave with three naves, adorned with 223 sculpted capitals that are among the finest in Anjou Romanesque art.
History
Standing on a limestone spur dominating the south bank of the Loire, the church of Notre-Dame de Cunault is one of the most imposing and best-preserved Romanesque monuments in the Loire Valley. Its squat, powerful silhouette, marked by a tower-porch flanked by massive buttresses, stands out in the Loire landscape with an authority that seven centuries of history have hardly shaken. Inside, the dizzying height of the main nave - almost twenty metres under vault - takes visitors by surprise, as they are used to the more modest proportions of rural priories. What sets Cunault apart from so many other great Romanesque abbeys is the extraordinary coherence of its sculpted decoration. The 223 capitals that crown the columns of the nave and side aisles form a veritable lapidary museum, alternating between interlacing plants, grimacing figures, hagiographic scenes and fantastic creatures directly inspired by medieval bestiaries. None of the capitals are exactly the same: this is one of the most accomplished expressions of the inventiveness of Anjou's master stonemasons. A visit to Cunault is also a rare acoustic experience. The white tuffeau stone - the chalky volcanic rock so characteristic of Anjou - absorbs and diffuses light with a milky softness that gives the interior an almost unreal atmosphere of contemplation. Concerts of early music and organ recitals regularly held in this nave make admirable use of its resonant qualities. The site boasts an exceptional natural setting: the village of Cunault, part of the commune of Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault, stretches along the banks of the Loire, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Around the church, narrow white tufa stone streets, ancient troglodytic cellars and the meandering royal river create a picture that invites you to extend your visit far beyond the walls of the building.
Architecture
The church of Notre-Dame de Cunault is part of the late Angevin Romanesque tradition, characterised by particularly slender interior spaces and a remarkable mastery of tufa stone. The building has a Latin cross floor plan, with a nave with three ships of seven bays, a slightly projecting transept and a choir with an ambulatory opening onto three radiating chapels. The total length of the building is around 60 metres, making it one of the largest rural abbeys in the Loire Valley. The western bell tower-porch, square in plan and rising on several levels with geminated bays, is the bravura exterior feature: its Lombard arcatures and finely sculpted modillions bear witness to a high level of technical mastery. The interior is striking for the purity and continuity of its volumes. The large arches fall on monolithic tufa columns topped with capitals whose iconographic diversity is truly encyclopaedic - acanthus leaves, harpies, centaurs, biblical figures, scenes from the Passion. The nave vault, rebuilt in the Plantagenet style in the 13th century, features multiple ribs in a curved geometry characteristic of the Angevin school. A large polychrome wooden Christ from the 15th century and a Romanesque gilded wooden reliquary shrine are among the treasures preserved in situ.
Related Figures
Saint Philibert — fondateur de l'abbaye de Noirmoutier, dont les reliques initialement déposées à Cunault fondèrent le rayonnement spirituel du siteLes moines de Noirmoutier — communauté réfugiée fuyant les Vikings au IXe siècle, à l'origine du premier sanctuaireLes abbés de Saint-Philibert-de-Tournus — mécènes et commanditaires bourguignons qui présidèrent aux grandes campagnes de construction aux XIe et XIIe sièclesProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des monuments historiques, qui inscrivit Cunault parmi les premiers édifices protégés en 1846Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus — architecte des Monuments Historiques ayant œuvré aux premières restaurations de l'édifice dans la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Notre-Dame de Cunault located?
Eglise Notre-Dame de Cunault is located in Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault, Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire region, France.
When was Eglise Notre-Dame de Cunault built?
Eglise Notre-Dame de Cunault dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Eglise Notre-Dame de Cunault open to visitors?
Eglise Notre-Dame de Cunault is currently closed to visitors.