Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Amand de Bruch, located in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, finds its origins in the early sixteenth century. The parish was mentioned in 1259, but the present building was rebuilt from the 1520s by the nuns of the priory of Paravis. The archives attest to work in 1523 and 1525, interrupted before the completion of the vaults, leaving visible the asses-de-lampe and the beginnings of Gothic vaults. This initial construction site already combines Renaissance decorations with a medieval structure, with a unique nave flanked by chapels and a pentagonal bedside.

A bell tower was added in 1615 and raised in 1867 during a major restoration entrusted to the Bordeaux architect Léo Courau. The latter replaces the walled ceiling with a roofed vault in line with the original project, requiring the reinforcement of the walls and roof. The campanile, which became disproportionate, was demolished in 1874, and the bell tower was finally completed in 1893 by the entrepreneur Arles, according to the plans of the Agenese architect Albert Courau. A last campaign to repair the blankets was conducted in 1909 under the direction of Léopold Payen.

The church, located outside the medieval enclosure of Bruch, illustrates the architectural evolutions between the Middle Ages and the modern era. Ranked a historic monument in 2005, it has been continuously restored, as evidenced by the construction site started in 2012. Its successive transformations reflect both the artistic ambitions of the Renaissance and the functional adaptations of the 19th and 20th centuries.

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