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Origin and history

The Saint-Martin church of Saint-Martin-Lalande, located in the Aude department in the Occitanie region, is a religious building built mainly in the 15th century. It consists of a single nave of three spans, initially covered by a frame, and a five-sided apse, arched with warheads. The 19th-century restorations profoundly transformed the building, including the addition of side chapels and the modification of the nave cover.

The western portal, the only partially preserved element of origin, dates from the mid-14th century. It is inspired by the north porch of the church of Saint-Michel de Castelnaudary and the sculpted capitals of the cloister of Saint-Papoul. This portal, although altered by the construction of a porch in the 19th century, was listed as historical monuments in 1952. It is the only significant vestige of medieval construction.

The first mention of the church, under the name Sanctus Martinius de la Landa, dates back to 1197 in the archives of the Pouiubran Commandory. Originally dependent on the bishopric of Toulouse, it was attached to the diocese of Saint-Papoul in 1317 and rebuilt in the middle of the 14th century. In 1430, his cure was annexed to the sacristy of the collegiate Saint-Michel de Castelnaudary. The major transformations of the 19th century included the laying of a false vault in the nave, the restoration of the vault of the choir in 1857, and the restoration of the bell tower in 1897.

The changes of the 19th century also concerned the movement of windows and the reorganization of the porch, whose entrance was moved to the south. This work, although designed to modernize or preserve the building, has erased much of the medieval architectural traces, with the exception of the gate. Today, the church remains a testimony to the evolution of religious and architectural practices in southern France, between the Middle Ages and the contemporary era.

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