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Origin and history

The Saint-Martin church of Ajat, located in the Dordogne department in New Aquitaine, is a Romanesque and Gothic building whose construction begins in the 12th century. It replaces a first church, perhaps dating from the eighth century. Originally, it was connected to the castle of Ajat by a span of the nave, now destroyed, testifying to its integration into a defensive and religious whole.

In the 13th century, the church passed under the possession of the Templars, who established a command office there. This period marks a transformation of the building, with the destruction of the span linking the church to the castle and the addition of a western wall to close the nave. The choir, in Romanesque style, contrasts with the nave reworked in Gothic times, although traces suggest a primitive vault in dome.

The church serves as a burial place until the 18th century, as evidenced by the numerous burial slabs engraved on the floor of the nave. In 1640 François de Hautefort, first Marquis de Hautefort and lord of Ajat, was buried in the choir. In the 19th century, the pavement was enhanced by a metre, disturbing the original alignment of the funeral slabs.

Ranked a historic monument in 1925, the church undergoes major restorations in the 21st century: the roof was redone in Lauze in 2011, and contemporary stained glass windows, created by the Korean Dominican Kim En Joong, are installed in 2013. In 2018, a Black Virgin figure, carved by Krys, was added near the altar. Excavations in 1994 also reveal buried sarcophagus.

Architecturally, the church is distinguished by its four-bayed bell tower, its hemicircular apse arched in cul-de-four, and a defensive bahut pierced with murderers. The furniture includes a 17th century procession cross, as well as sarcophagi visible along the southern facade. The building thus illustrates a superimposition of styles and uses, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era.

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