During European Heritage Days, you can explore Simorre Abbey Church with Jean Marc Bayle, who will reveal the little secrets of this monument. Join us on Saturday 20 September at 4pm.
As soon as you approach Simorre, a massive silhouette catches your eye: the Abbey Church of Simorre, which stands like a castle straight out of a fairy tale. This monument was the abbey church of the ancient and powerful Benedictine Abbey of Simorre, founded, according to tradition, in 507 by Clovis. Its convent buildings were located to the north of the church. They were sold as national property during the Revolution.
At the end of the 13th century, a conflict broke out between the Count of Astarac and the Abbot of Simorre over rights of justice. The latter appealed to the King of France, Philip IV the Fair, who dismissed the Count's case and forced him to pay substantial compensation to the Abbot. This windfall enabled the reconstruction of a church on the Romanesque foundations of the previous one.
Construction began around 1290 and the church was consecrated in 1309. The speed of construction explains its architectural unity. The proportions are very harmonious. The plan adopted is that of a Latin cross. The flat-ended chevet is inspired more by Cistercian than Benedictine architecture. The style is similar to Toulouse Gothic in terms of the material used (brick), the mitre-shaped openings, the cogwheel decoration and the arches between the buttresses without projections. From the outset, the portal was fortified, as were the two south towers.
Stone is rarely used, except for the western half-bay dating from 1442. However, it is at the intersection of the nave and the transept that Gothic architecture is masterfully expressed in the elevation that transforms the square defined by the four pillars into an octagonal vault topped by a lantern tower, a hypothetical precursor to a Toulouse-style bell tower.
A sacristy, which became a sacristy, was built around 1350 to house the numerous relics. It is decorated with 14th-century murals. A series of stained-glass windows dating from the 14th to the 19th century, as well as a choir with early 16th-century statues, adorn the interior.
The church, which was in very poor condition, was listed as a Historic Monument in 1843, and Prosper Mérimée, Inspector General of Historic Monuments, sent the young architect Eugène Viollet le Duc (1814-1879) to restore the building. His intervention consisted of strongly emphasising the military character by adding a crenellated system to the top of the church, removing the roof overhang, as shown in an engraving from 1839.
In 1902, the vestibule and chapel at the south entrance were demolished. All that remains is the floor level and the gable leaning against the wall. The 1960s saw the stripping of part of the interior walls, exposing the bricks, and the restoration of the murals in the Sacristy.
