Eglise Notre-Dame
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Notre-Dame, located in Lempzours (Dordogne), 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
- Lempzours, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 45.3605, 0.8180
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00082612
A former Templar chapel dating back to the 12th century, the church of Notre-Dame de Lempzours fascinates visitors with its rare pendentive domes, a striking example of Perigord Romanesque architecture at its height.
History
Nestling in the heart of the Périgord Vert region, the church of Notre-Dame de Lempzours is one of those architectural nuggets that the Dordogne conceals with unrivalled generosity. A listed historic monument since 1938, it belongs to that singular family of Romanesque buildings in the South-West whose silhouette is punctuated by domes on pendentives, a roofing system inherited from the Byzantine East and naturalised in Aquitaine during the 12th century. What immediately sets Notre-Dame de Lempzours apart is its intimacy and the quality of its interior space. Three square bays follow one another, each topped by a cupola, the central one higher than the others, giving the whole a striking spatial hierarchy. This tripartite organisation is reminiscent of the great domed churches of the region - such as Périgueux Cathedral and Souillac Church - but in a restrained, almost monastic format that makes the building particularly moving. The Templar history surrounding the site adds an incomparable esoteric and historical dimension. Local tradition has it that the church was the chapel of a commandery of the Order of the Temple, whose buildings stood in the immediate vicinity. Whether true or not, this connection plunges visitors into the atmosphere of the heyday of medieval Christianity, the Crusades and the pilgrimage routes. The tour, which is short in duration but rich in emotion, allows visitors to observe the traces of the successive interventions that have shaped the building over the centuries: the floor replacing the first dome, which has now disappeared, the four-sided roof masking the central dome, the square choir replacing the original semicircular apse. These architectural scars tell the story, better than any words could, of the long and eventful life of a village building that has remained standing despite the vagaries of time.
Architecture
The church of Notre-Dame de Lempzours is one of a family of Romanesque buildings in the Périgord with domes on pendentives, a remarkable construction system that allows a square plan to be covered by a hemispherical vault using four spherical triangles to bridge the gap between the square and the circle. This method, of which Saint-Front cathedral in Périgueux is the most grandiose example in the Dordogne, is used here in an intimate, village-style version that loses none of its nobility. The layout comprises three successive square bays. The eastern bay, corresponding to the sanctuary, is topped by a dome on pendentives, which is perfectly preserved inside, although it is hidden from view by a gable roof added during later works. The highest, central bay forms the heart of the building, creating a lantern effect that was originally to be crowned by a luminous drum. The first bay, on the west side, has lost its original dome, which has been replaced by a floor that significantly alters the perception of the space but bears witness to the continuous use of the building over the centuries. The original apse, which should have been semi-circular according to the Aquitaine Romanesque canon, has been replaced by a square choir, a common intervention in the French countryside between the 17th and 19th centuries. The walls, made of carefully coursed local limestone rubble, bear witness to the skills of Périgord stone masons, and the general sobriety of the ornamentation lends the building an austerity that is fully in keeping with the military and contemplative spirituality attributed to it by the Templar tradition.
Related Figures
Hugues de Payns — fondateur de l'Ordre du Temple en 1119, dont la diffusion en Périgord aurait conduit à l'établissement de la commanderie localePhilippe IV le Bel — roi de France qui ordonna la suppression de l'Ordre du Temple en 1307-1312, bouleversant le destin de toutes les commanderies templières de FranceClément V — pape d'Avignon qui entérina la dissolution de l'Ordre du Temple lors du concile de Vienne (1312)Prosper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments historiques au XIXe siècle, dont l'action nationale a permis d'établir les bases du recensement du patrimoine roman périgourdin
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Notre-Dame located?
Eglise Notre-Dame is located in Lempzours, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Eglise Notre-Dame built?
Eglise Notre-Dame dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Eglise Notre-Dame open to visitors?
Eglise Notre-Dame is currently closed to visitors.
