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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Étienne-Saint-Vincent d'Estagel, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales, is a religious building whose origins date back to the 12th century, with major changes in the 15th century. Although the baptismal tank and a 14th century Latin stone (1319) are the only remains of the first church, the current building has a vaulted nave of ridges flanked by chapels, typical of Romanesque architecture. Its bell tower in bricks and stones, unfinished, dates from the seventeenth century. The church was partially destroyed in 1542 during a fire lit by French soldiers, in a context of border tensions between the crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of France.

Before the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659, Estagel belonged to Aragon, which exposed the city to the French invasions. After the fire of 1542, the General Council of Estagel asked in 1547 the knight Pere Pastor of Perpignan to obtain reparation funds. The building underwent numerous renovations in the 19th and 20th centuries, and its retables, erected at different times, illustrate successive phases of modifications. Among them, the altarpiece of Christ (early 18th century) and that of Notre-Dame du Rosaire (1713) are distinguished by their iconographic richness and baroque style.

The church also houses Hispano-Mauresque terracotta stones of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as well as a altarpiece painted by Joseph Brell in 1583, depicting the stories of Saint Stephen and Saint Vincent. Under the direction of parish priest Raymond Pla (1815-1833), a camaril was added, and François Boher made interior paintings in collaboration with a sculptor potentially identified as Gorry of Barcelona. Classified as a historic monument since 24 April 1926, this church bears witness to the cultural and artistic exchanges between Catalonia and Occitanie.

The church's location near Francisco Ferrer Square and Route D117 reflects its central role in Estagel's community life. Its hybrid architecture, combining Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque influences, as well as richly decorated furniture, make it a remarkable example of the Occitan religious heritage, marked by successive conflicts and reconstructions.

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