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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Church of Saint-Genès d'Arzens, located in the Aude department in the Occitanie region, is a religious building built between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It is distinguished by a unique nave of four spans followed by a pentagonal apse vaulted with warheads, typical of southern Gothic architecture. Its bell tower, integrated with an ancient fortified door of the oppidum, dominates the village, while elements such as the carved Agnus Dei or the plant capitals testify to a neat medieval craftsmanship.

The church is mentioned for the first time in the Survey of 1269, then rebuilt in the 2nd quarter of the 14th century, as evidenced by its stylistic analysis. It was attached in 1310 to the seigneurial house of Armagnac, whose coat of arms adorn some arch keys. At the beginning of the 15th century Cardinal Jean d'Armagnac laid a relic of the crown of the thorns of Christ, leading to the construction of a dedicated chapel. The restorations of the 19th century, such as the addition of a rose or brick vaults, partially altered its original structure.

Ranked a historic monument in 1948 (except for the porch of the sacristy and western span), the church preserves traces of its parish and defensive past. Its name evokes a bear-related etymology, perhaps symbolic or related to local wildlife. The cap of coarse heads and the ribs of the warheads, made by the same workshop, illustrate a remarkable artistic unit for a building of this size.

Subsequent transformations, such as the chapel of Saint-Guilhem (1866) or the resumption of the foothills, preserved most of its medieval character. The tower of the bell tower, divided into four unequal floors by larmal bands, dates from the second half of the 13th century. Its spiral staircase, housed in a polygonal turret, and twined bays underline its role both religious and defensive in local history.

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