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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Saint-Étienne Church, located in Auriac-du-Périgord, New Aquitaine, is a Catholic building whose foundation could date back to the sixth century, a period of Christianization of the countryside. Its initial construction, however, dates from the 11th or 12th century, with major changes after the Hundred Years' War, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries. These changes include the addition of defence chambers above the nave and choir, as well as the partial reconstruction of the bell tower, reflecting the defensive needs of the time.

In the seventeenth century, the church underwent new transformations: a sacristy was added, the north wall of the nave was redone with enlarged bays, and the west facade was raised to accommodate a bell. Until 1856, the church was surrounded by a cemetery, accessible by a "gate of the dead" now walled. Between 1899 and 1902, the nave lost its shelter chamber, and its ceiling was replaced by a false brick vault, changing the slope of the roof. The bell tower, burned in 1949 after a lightning strike, was rebuilt with a soft roof.

The architecture of the church is distinguished by its atypical orientation (east-south-east/west-north-west) and its defensive elements, such as the footbridges and screw stairs serving the attic. The chorus and transept, partially Romanesque, conserve capitals carved from plant motifs. The furniture includes an altar and a 17th-century tabernacle, made of golden wood, as well as a pulpit and wooden pietà. The building, which was listed as a historical monument in 1973, illustrates the architectural and liturgical evolution of a fortified rural church.

The protection of the church in 1973 recognized its heritage value, mixing Romanesque heritage, late medieval adaptations and modern additions. Its history reflects regional upheavals, from medieval conflicts to liturgical transformations in modern times, while preserving tangible traces of each era, such as the Romanesque niches of the choir or the defensive modifications of the fourteenth century.

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