Memory of Stones
Notre-Dame-du-Bourg Rabastens Church
Since 1998, the Notre-Dame du Bourg church has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as one of the remarkable monuments on the roads to Saint-Jacques de Compostelle.
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During the 12th century, a Roman priory was built in Rabastens by the Benedictine monks of the abbey of Moissac . They chose this location at the crossroads of the Toulouse-Lyon road and a fertile region in the alluvial valley of the Tarn .
Strongly deteriorated during the Albigensian crusade , the church was rebuilt from the Treaty of Meaux-Paris and the return of peace. The Romanesque portal is preserved but the rest is built in brick according to the Southern Gothic style . The construction takes about two centuries.
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During the wars of religion , the monument was looted and transformed into a guardhouse.
The statues, furniture and goldsmiths are scattered. After the return to Catholic worship, the church was entrusted to the Jesuits . A chapter was founded in 1547.
A restoration has begun which will last until the 18th century.
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Click on the image to enlarge
Click on the image to enlarge
During the revolution of 1789 , the church suffered further damage. It was restored again in the 19th century under the direction of César Daly . On this occasion, the north turret of the bell tower is built in symmetry of the other, from the 16th century.
Murals are brought to light under the successive plasters. Restorations continued until 1889, with the redevelopment of the south chapels of the nave.
It is classified as historical monuments on August 31, 1899
Flamboyant interior decoration
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Click on the image to enlarge
The richness of the interior decoration is breathtaking: red predominates, there are also blue and gold.
The murals are beautiful and moving. We are sometimes used to more sober interiors when we visit a medieval church. It is often because the colors have passed through the filter of time. The interior of Notre-Dame du Bourg owes its astonishing conservation to an original fact.
In the 16th century during the wars of religion, the church was looted by Protestants who transformed it into a guardhouse. When the Catholics get it back, they brush it with lime to purify it!
It was not until the 19th century, during a restoration, that we discovered the paintings under the whitewash, then kept in exceptional condition!
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Click on the image to enlarge
The "swastikas" painted on the wall often baffle visitors; this symbol similar to the swastika is in fact much earlier; ancient sacred symbol, common to many spiritualities and many eras, it is synonymous with movement and life.
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