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Origin and history

The Church of Notre-Dame d'Espinasse, located in Aubusson-d'Auvergne in Puy-de-Dôme, is a Catholic religious building built in the 15th century. It illustrates the southern Gothic style, with a two-span nave, a polygonal choir and arches of warheads decorated with quadrilobed keys. Its west portal, in broken arch, is surmounted by a blind tympanum representing a bust of Christ, while a flamboyant oculus illuminates the facade. Inside, prismatic or leafy capitals and ribs falling back on committed columns testify to a neat architecture. A polygonal turret, vestige of the old bell tower, remains against a south-west foothill, housing a spiral staircase.

The church is part of a coherent set including a communal cemetery and a source known for its dermatological virtues, attracting pilgrims dedicated to the Virgin Mary. According to a local legend, a hermit founded an oratory on this site between the 7th and 8th centuries after a Marian appearance, suggesting an origin far prior to the current building. The church, originally Romanesque, was rebuilt in the 15th century and listed as historical monuments in 1985. Today it belongs to the municipality and remains a place of worship and active heritage.

The building is distinguished by its east-west orientation, its nave separated from the choir by a diaphragm arch, and its massive foothills supporting the first span, once surmounted by a bell tower. The cushions integrated into the base of the portal and the plant decorations of the capitals reflect particular attention to detail. The nearby source, perhaps linked to earlier pagan worship, reinforces the sacred character of the place. The whole, though modest, embodies medieval piety and the adaptation of local traditions to Christian practices.

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