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Origin and history

The Church of St.Christophe of St.Christophe-des-Bardes is a Roman Catholic church built in the 12th century. Originally a simple chapel or oratory attached to the chapter of Saint-Émilion until 1161, it was 11 meters by 6.95 meters. Its walled portal, decorated with nine arches in retreat and symbolic sculptures (birds, oak leaves, rinceaux), is a remarkable example of Romanesque art. The capitals, decorated with fantastic characters and animals, evoke moral themes such as the struggle between Good and Evil. This portal was classified as historical monuments in 1908.

In the 16th century, the unique nave of the church was enlarged, erasing much of the interior Romanesque remains. The modifications continued in the 19th century under the direction of the diocesan architect Pierre-Auguste Labbé: in 1859, a plaster vault was added, and in 1860 the triangular pediment of the western facade was replaced by a quadrilateral bell tower surmounted by an arrow. This work, although modernising the building, has made almost all the Romanesque traces disappear inside. The church as a whole was listed as historical monuments in 2000.

The western façade retains notable Romanesque elements, such as the cornice modillons, added during the restorations of the 19th century by Labbé. These modillons include classical themes of Romanesque iconography, although less coherent than the originals. Inside, the church houses seven modern stained glass windows created by Bordeaux master glassmaker Bernard Fournier, representing Christ in majesty and the Tetramorph. The southern wall of the nave also presents two canonial dials, primitive liturgical tools used between the 9th and 14th centuries to determine the hours of the offices.

The altar of the church is decorated with a bas-relief representing the placing at the tomb of Christ, while the capitals of the triumphal arch, dated the 16th century, have a plant decoration. Despite the successive transformations, the church of Saint Christophe remains an architectural witness to the stylistic and religious evolutions of the Gironde, mixing Romanesque heritage, Gothic modifications and modern restorations.

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