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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Saint John de Beauzac Church, listed as a Historic Monument in 1875, 1908 and 1948, is a Catholic building built between the twelfth and seventeenth centuries. Originally dependent on the Monastier Abbey, it presents a mixture of architectural styles, including a three-storey comb tower and a flamboyant Gothic portal on its southern flank. Under his Romanesque choir, it houses an 11th century crypt, a rare element in the Velay region. The nave, composed of three spans, is surmounted by arched arched vaults, while the columns of the bedside bear carved capitals.

From the primitive building of the 12th century, there remains only the apse, the crypt, the central span and part of the campanile, initially endowed with a single row of archatures. The latter was enhanced in 1848 and a cylindrical tower was added to the bedside. The central span, vaulted with a dome on tubes, rests on four corbelled arches, with columns decorated with water leaves. In the 15th century, two side chapels were built on either side of this span, replacing the traditional location of the transept. The following two spans date from the 16th century.

In 2025, thanks to financial assistance from the Michelin Foundation, the commune of Beauzac restored two emblematic statues of the church: a Virgin with a wooden snake and a statue of Saint John in plaster. These works had been damaged by an unfortunate old restoration. The church, owned by the commune, remains a major architectural and historical testimony of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, mixing Romanesque and Gothic influences.

The elements protected under the Historic Monuments include the crypt (classified in 1875), the abside (classified in 1908) and part of the nave (classified in 1948). The precise address of the building is the 10 Place du Marché, in Beauzac, in the Haute-Loire department. Its code Insee, 43025, links it to the district of Puy-en-Velay, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

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