11 juin 2007
The church of Châtel-mountain
Limagne
bourbonnaise is bordered by a mountain in the east where, on the broken
edge of the mounts of the Madeleine, on the slopes of Besbre, is
essential a Romance monument particular good: the church of
Châtel-mountain. It is a granite building rough which associate the
traditions auvergnates and those of Cluny.
Existing
already at a moved back time as testify some to cut flints and the
shards of pottery, this place became probably a Gallic oppidum, before
being occupied by the Romans, protecting one from the antique sees
which connects Vichy to Roanne while passing by the Cross of the South.
It
was discovered, at the time of a recent restoration of the pavement, a
dolmenic table under the chorus of the current church, proof that this
sanctuary was built on an old site megalithic. 
In
1082, the Dalmas lord and his Etiennette wife give to the monks of
Cluny all the goods which they have with Châtel-Mountain of which the
Notre-Dame church, church built in the honor of the Virgin Mary and
dependent on the diocese of Cluny. According to a local oral tradition,
it would have been built on the initiative of a living rich person,
named Ponthonnier. The pope Urbain It authenticates this donation in
1095. Named “castrum in montanis”, it is the seat of one of most
important the baronnies of Bourbonnais.
The
construction of the church in its current volume, by enlarging of the
primitive church, with a cloister and a priory on the ground in the
north of the church, is thus the work of the monks clunisiens, between
1082, date on which they received the church in gift, and the beginning
of XIIème century, about 1210, period from which the Gothic style was
essential. The archaeological study reconstituted that it was lower 4
meters, that it extended until the medium from the current southern
gate and had a traditional plan for the time, with a transept prolonged
by the three apses, one median and two side narrower.
Of this church the low parts of the nave and the transept as well as the entry of the three apses were preserved.
Then in 1150, the nave is lengthened, like elevated of almost four
meters by the creation of the false platforms, thus allowing the boring
of the high windows which ensure a direct lighting.
After this period was created
the
Western solid mass being pressed on the frontage which has been just
built and whose window must be stopped. The western frontage on two
plans, with its three lines of niches superimposed is then carried out.
At
the beginning of XIIème century, primitive chorus, only a very short
section of the right part of the two side chapels is preserved,
ensuring the junction of the new chorus with the primitive transept
still not altered.
Two
large round columns mark separation between the right part of the
chorus and the apse and facilitate racordement new vaults with what has
preserved being.
The
voutes of the transept are raised, unifying volumes. The tower of the
bell-tower, in two stages, is set up, probably surmounted by a covered
stone arrow. Construction is completed with the creation of a porch to
the front of the southern side door.
To the beginning of XIIIème century, time when the large church was completed under its current aspects, the seigniory belongs to the powerful family of Montmorillon, then at the end of XIIIème century, the marquis de Lapalisse.
During
the revolution, the local demonstrations of the Jacobinism are extreme,
the village is renamed “Mount-on-Besbre”, the stone arrow of 13 meters
of the church is cut down as emblem of the superstition and all the
destroyed files. In 1794, the building is put on sale and becomes a
salpetre warehouse, kept by the national guards, which saves it
demolition.
The
absence of modification at the time Gothic or to the rebirth, and a
restoration supplements between 1850 and 1890, which erased the late
modifications and additions, preserved overall at the church Notre-Dame
de Châtel Montagne and in particular at the Romance bedside with
déambulatoire an aspect close to its aspect such as at the beginning of
XIIIème century.
The
church of Châtel-Mountain carries in its construction the print of
various influences: raise of an influence auvergnate, the details of
the bedside of the church (of which the general form is common in XIème
century), as well as the false platforms of the nave, used in a small
number of buildings divided into Romance Europe and who are frequent in
the transepts of the “large” Romance churches of Auvergne the four
radiating chapels, (There is no axial vault dedicated to the virgin in
the churches bearing its name), the diagrid running along the
déambulatoire and supporting the pillars, two pillars twinned at the
entry of the déambulatoire.
Are
of Burgundian influence, the whole of the nave (other than the false
platforms), the sober decoration limited to the bands lombardes and the
opening of the porch on outside with rez of roadway, the openings
gathered by three, the square pillars of the false platforms, the
bell-tower made up of a base and two stages of which a blind man,
decorated with geminated bays and with the angles deadened by rolls,
the sober decoration limited to the cords of bilettes, the original
frontage: batie on two plans with its openings bored at the bottom of
six niches divided into two stages, it probably influenced the
construction of the cathedral of Puy.
The
church comprises nearly 90 capitals, almost all cut in a very hard
granite, which is not without consequence on the lack of smoothness of
the sculptures and which made them with lay treat the “coarse ones”.
Several capitals were mutilated with the revolution or by the puritan zeal of the XIXème century, some were replaced by capitals with vegetable reasons at the time of the restorations.
The tritons are there to indicate to us the aquiferous networks, the acrobats to show us the way of the initiate.
The
9 historiés capitals most known are located in the nave: the ass, drawn
by an ear, retained by the tail, the lust, with the thighs hammered by
the censure of a town council about 1835, it orant blessing the
assembly, the telamon with frog head, the players of horn.
Part of the capitals appears former to the beginning of XIIème century and would be of re-employment.
Dimensions
of the building: Overall length with the porch: 41,35 meters, total
width of the 3 naves: 11,45 meters, height of the principal vault:
12,60 meters.
http://www.chatel-montagne.com/
