Church of Saint Francis of Sales
Presentation
Built around 1857, the church of Montcarra is a neo-Romanesque building with a Latin cross layout. It was built on a foundation of squared-off rubblestone (molasse) extracted from the region's quarries by the local people.
The church, dedicated to Saint Francis of Sales, comprises a high nave adjoining a semicircular eastern apse with two lower chapels which thus form the shape of a Latin cross. Opposite the sacristy, the belltower stands at the corner between the chancel and the north chapel whose masonry leans against the tower. The neo-Romanesque church features a front façade with a doorway (solid scrollwork running down to small columns) above which is a triple bay window and a niche featuring a large statue, probably of cast iron, of the Virgin Mary. While the other bays have single bay windows (twin ones in the chapels), the apse has the same triple bay window as the front façade. The inside of the church features low, false ribbed vaults with a flat double-arch effect and grooves that run down to fine corbels with leaf-design capitals placed at the top of the walls. An arch resting on tall columns leads to the chapels under vaults decorated with stars on an azure background. The raised chancel stands beyond a triumphal arch placed on tall columns. The false semi-circular vaults (next to the radiating chapel) are decorated in a white background speckled with black.
The church opens for Heritage Days and on the evening of 8th December.
Live performances are organised in the church by the Autour du Clocher association of Montcarra whose purpose is to protect the village's heritage features.
The church opens for Heritage Days and on the evening of 8th December.
Live performances are organised in the church by the Autour du Clocher association of Montcarra whose purpose is to protect the village's heritage features.
Themes
- Type of culturel patrimony :
- Historic site and monument
- Religious patrimony :
- Religious heritage
- Church
- Period :
- 19th C
Useful Information
- Entertainment :
- Concert
Tarifs
Free access.
Contact
Church of Saint Francis of Sales
Voie communale, grand rue
38890
Montcarra
Phone : +33 4 74 92 43 31
- Spoken language(s) :
FICHE_INFO_SIMPLE_LIBELLE_DESTINATION
Eglise Saint-François de Sales
Voie communale, grand rue
38890
Montcarra
GPS coordinates
Latitude : 45.612644
Longitude : 5.394341