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Origin and history

The church Notre-Dame-de-Laval de Peyrusse-le-Roc is a Gothic building built in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, located in the department of Aveyron, in the Occitan region. It is distinguished by its unique nave, polygonal choir and lateral chapels, some of which were vaulted with warheads or in a broken cradle. The nave, on the other hand, does not seem to have been covered with arches of warheads, as the archaeological excavations suggest. The west facade had a rose decorated with stained glass windows ordered in 1432, representing religious figures and coat of arms.

The church was a priory dependent on Figeac Abbey, mentioned as early as 1285 during a pastoral visit. It was disused at the end of the seventeenth century after the construction of a new church in the village in 1680. The current ruins bear witness to its past importance, linked to the mining history of Peyrusse-le-Roc, known since Roman times for its silver, lead and antimony mines. The local fortress, occupied by the English in 1163 and then by Simon de Montfort, lost its influence from the 16th century.

The building, classified as a historical monument in 1995, also includes a belfry located nearby. The preserved remains include foundations and architectural elements such as Romanesque capitals, suggesting a first church prior to Gothic reconstruction. The adjoining cemetery remained in use until 1740, despite the abandonment of the church.

The construction of the present church, homogeneous despite additions of private chapels, probably occurred between the late 13th and early 14th century. Its decline is in line with that of Peyrusse-le-Roc, whose mining and strategic activity gradually declined after the 16th century.

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