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Origin and history

The church Saint-Assiscle-et-Sainte-Victoire of Sorede was first mentioned in 1051 as a parish church, although no vestiges of this period remained. Its initial location remains unknown, but one assumes a Romanesque or preroman style. The building was rebuilt in the 14th century near the seigneurial castle, before being almost completely destroyed in the early 18th century to give way to the present church, whose southern gate bears the date of 1733.

In the 19th century, the church underwent important works: a false arch at a cross-dogives (1879) replaced the original structure, and a clock tower was added. The bell tower, meanwhile, dates from the middle of the eighteenth century. The building, with a single nave facing north, preserves a semi-octogonal apse partially medieval, while its lateral chapels and windows date from modern redevelopments.

The church was looted during the French Revolution, losing much of its old furniture. Among the rare preserved baroque elements are the altarpiece of the Rosary (early 18th century) and statues of the patron saints, survivors of the destroyed old altarpiece. The stained glass windows of 1879, signed by glass painters Eugène Hucher and Edouard Rathouis, as well as neo-Gothic marblings, now dominate the choir. A Romanesque capital inlaid above the gate, perhaps from the cloister of Saint-André-de-Sorède Abbey, remains a riddle.

The historical sources underline its central role in Sordède's community life, from its medieval parish status to its integration into current village architecture, marked by successive reconstructions and stylistic adaptations (baroque, neo-gothic).

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