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Origin and history

The church Notre-Dame de Thines, located in the hamlet of Thines on the commune of Malarce-sur-la-Thines (Ardèche), is a religious building built between 1170 and 1190 by Benedictine monks. It then depended on the abbey of Saint-Chaffre du Monastier and was close to the major pilgrimage routes to Le Puy-en-Velay and Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle. Its Romanesque architecture, marked by a polychrome apparatus, a monumental staircase and a portal adorned with statues-columns, bears witness to its historical and artistic importance.

In 1587, during the Wars of Religion, the Huguenots tried to seize the strong neighbour of Thines. After their failure, they looted the village and captured the parish priest, while disfiguring the statues of the church gate. These events were a lasting sign of the local heritage. During the French Revolution in 1793, the isolated hamlet of Thines escaped the violence, but a bell was requisitioned by the Convention.

Classified as a historic monument in 1862, the church housed a polychrome wooden statue from the 14th century Virgin to Child. This work, classified in 1944, was unfortunately stolen in 1973. The bedside, carved capitals and lintel of the portal are among the most remarkable architectural elements of this building, a symbol of the ardèche religious heritage.

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