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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-de-l'Assumption de Châtre Abbey, located in the heart of the vineyards of Saint-Brice in Charente, is a jewel of Saintongese Romanesque art. Its abbey, built in the 12th century, is distinguished by its domes on pendants, an architectural rarity in the region. The facade, sober but elegant, contrasts with the richness of its arches and its polylobic portal carved of rinceaux. Founded between the year 1000 and 1077 according to the sources, the abbey was created by a lord of Bourg-Charente or by a donation from Arnaud Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, then enriched by a disciple of Robert d'Arbrissel.

The abbey housed regular canons of St Augustine, living in community under the vow of poverty. Its undocumented history is marked by successive destructions: the Romanesque abside was destroyed during the Hundred Years' War, while a fire in 1562, during the Wars of Religion, ravaged the north arm of the transept and part of the convent buildings. At the time of the Revolution, the community was dissolved in 1791, and the premises, sold as national property in 1795, became a factory and then a farm, erasing much of the remains.

The choir, reconstructed in the 14th century after the ruin of the abside, has a dogid vault and a flat bedside. A 15th century chapel, the southern absidiole, also remains. Ranked a historic monument in 1948, the abbey revealed polychrome frescoes during renovations in 2017. Today, it visits the summer and retains the traces of a small vaulted convent building. A sound and light show, mounted by a local association, once told its story.

Architecturally, the unique nave of 45 meters, covered with three domes, and the dome of the cross of the transept, decorated with a cord in saw teeth, illustrate the mastery of the Romanesque builders. The façade, divided into three registers by cornices, plays on the proportions of the arcatures to create a harmonious visual effect. The capitals, sculpted with interlaced rinsels, and the gate with bare windows underline the refinement of this building, despite the losses suffered over the centuries.

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