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Saint Lawrence Church of Magalas dans l'Hérault

Patrimoine classé
Clocher-mur
Art roman languedocien
Hérault

Saint Lawrence Church of Magalas

    22-28 Rue Saint-Laurent
    34480 Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Église Saint-Laurent de Magalas
Crédit photo : EmDee - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1200
1300
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2e moitié du XIIe siècle
Romanesque construction
1270
Becoming parishioner
1649
Fire of sacristy
1967
Turn of the small bather
1972–1974
Major restoration
16 novembre 1984
Full MH classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Parish Church (Cd. G 549): inscription by decree of 16 November 1984

Key figures

Lucien Larroudé - Curé de Magalas Friend of Robert Dhéry, facilitated the shooting.
Robert Dhéry - Director Choose the church for *The Little Bather*.
Louis de Funès - Actor Famous figure during the shooting.
Jacques Legras - Actor (Abbé Castagnier) Played in the cult scene.
Jean Marie Amelin - Author (1825) Described the original stone pulpit.
Millon - Glass artist Created the stained glass windows during the restoration.

Origin and history

The St. Lawrence church of Magalas, located in the Hérault, finds its origins in an ancient place of worship probably Roman then wisigoth. Its Romanesque construction began in the second half of the 12th century, initially as a chapel of the Castrum of Magalas, mentioned as early as 1134 in the cartulars of Béziers and of Aniane. It became parish church in 1270, depending on the chapter of the Cathedral of Saint-Nazaire de Béziers. Its history is marked by fires (like that of 1649 destroying sacristy) and transformations in the 15th, 17th and 19th centuries, reflecting its architectural and community evolution.

The monument won an unexpected notoriety in 1967 as the setting of Robert Dhéry's film Le Petit Baigneur, thanks to his delapidated state and friendship between the director and the curé Lucien Larroudé. Although the legend attributed its restoration to filming, it (1972–1974) was financed by municipal borrowings, state subsidies, and a symbolic donation of 10,000 francs. The works concerned the cracked choir, the pulpit of truth, the stained glass windows (by artist Millon), and the installation of modern equipment (heating, sounding).

Partially classified in 1939 (powder and wooden door), then entirely in 1984, the church reveals a hybrid architecture: Romanesque facade in shell limestone, portal to you, and unique 12th century nave with Gothic chapels. Its carved details (sirens, claws) and its funerary stones (including a date of 1180) bear witness to its medieval past. The original cemetery around the building was moved in the 16th century, leaving room for the present public square.

The film anecdote highlights the wooden pulpit of truth, replacing the original stone (described in 1825 as adorned with sculptures). The film also used local extras, and elders remember shootings with Louis de Funès and Michel Galabru. Despite its fame, the church remains a symbol of Occitan rural heritage, mixing religious history, evolutionary architecture, and popular culture.

External links