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Origin and history

The Collège Saint-Pierre du Dorat, located in the town of the same name in Haute-Vienne, is a 77-metre-long Romanesque collegiate built in grey granite. Its Latin cross plan and its fortification in the 15th century give it a massive appearance. Ranked a historic monument in 1846, it is marked by a turbulent history, including destruction by the Normans in 866 and several fires between the 10th and 11th centuries.

The present church finds its origins in the 11th century, with the consecration of a new church in 1063, followed by numerous works until the 12th century. In 1130, the relics of St.Israel and St.Theobald were solemnly transferred to the crypt, where two granite sarcophagi still house them. The construction of the nave, façade and bell tower of the transept was completed around 1170. The college was protected by Louis XI in 1482 and its ostensions, integrated with limo ostensions, were authorized in 1659.

The architecture of the college combines Romanesque and pre-Gothic influences. The 15th century defence tower, the octagonal tower culminating at 26.60 meters, and the western portal with Mozarabic lobes are significant. The nave, 17 meters high, is vaulted in a broken cradle, while the choir, raised and decorated with carved capitals, houses a walk-through and three radiant chapels. The 11th century crypt, dedicated to Saint Anne, preserves traces of the first foundations.

The furniture includes a carolingian baptismal tank in pink granite, carved of symbolic lions, and a Cavaillé-Coll organ offered in 1876. The shawls of the saints Israel and Theobald, made of 17th century golden wood, rest on granite steles. The stained glass windows, installed between 1870 and 1885, as well as the fifteen stations of the road of the cross in terracotta (1962), complete this artistic heritage.

The college was also a place of religious and political power. Boson I, Count of the Marche, installed a chapter of twenty canons around 980. The conflicts with local lords, such as Étienne de Muret in 1013, and the royal privileges confirmed by Louis XI in 1482 underline its historical importance. The seven-year ostensions, suspended only in 1799, still perpetuate its spiritual role in the region.

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