Church à Prades-d'Aubrac dans l'Aveyron

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Origin and history

The Saint-Laurent church of Prades-d'Aubrac, located in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie region, is a religious building built between 1540 and 1546. It combines Gothic and Renaissance styles, as evidenced by its ivy vaults and thirdons, as well as its porch adorned with a pieta and a Latin inscription. Its interior architecture includes a nave flanked by side chapels, including the Sept-Douleurs and the Rosary, richly decorated with frescoes and sculptures.

The church was erected under the direction of Antoine André, dom d'Aubrac, then completed by Georges d'Armagnac, whose coat of arms appear on the porch. Ranked a historic monument on April 13, 1929, it houses remarkable elements such as a altarpiece of 1669, an engraved stone pulpit, and arch keys depicting biblical figures. The restoration works of the twentieth century, like the withdrawal of the crepi in 1930, revealed medieval frescoes.

The bell tower, of octagonal shape, overcomes a square base and ends with a frame arrow. Inside, the side chapels have decorative asymmetries typical of the Renaissance, such as a basket of fruit and a carved shell. The chapel of the Rosary, decorated with the 15 mysteries added in 1863, and the polychrome vault of the choir, with its pendants and its shield of Dom André, illustrate the artistic richness of the building.

Among the major works are a Crucifixion and an Eternal Father in golden wood, made by Louis Castanié in 1867. These 19th century additions complete an architectural ensemble marked by the medieval and reborn heritage. The church, owned by the commune, remains a major testimony of the religious and artistic heritage of Aubrac.

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