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Origin and history

The Saint-Pierre de Genens Church is a Romanesque church in ruins, located about 2 km south of Montreal-du-Gers, on the slopes on the right bank of the Auzoue River. This site was once occupied by an ancient villa belonging to a certain Gengus, whose remains were reused in the construction of the present church. In 680, this villa, like other local properties such as Séviac, was ceded to the Abbey of Moissac, which built or renovated a first church. The present building was built at the beginning of the 12th century, when the property passed under the control of the chapter of Auch.

The founding of the Montreal bastide in 1255 led to a demographic decline for the parish of Genens, gradually marginalizing the church. In 1569 the Protestant troops of Montgomery ravaged the building. During the Revolution, the roof and bell tower were destroyed, and materials were reused in the 19th century to repair the parish church of Montreal. Classified as a historic monument in 1979, the church now belongs to the association Pour Genens, which maintains it.

From an architectural point of view, the church, of modest dimensions (27 m long by 9 m wide), presents a regular stone apparatus and missing vaults, with the exception of the choir, covered with a broken cradle vault. The Romanesque portal, decorated with a used marble chrism, and the exterior foothills highlight its sober style. The choir, of square plane, is distinguished by its three elevation floors, its arches on antique columnettes used, and its windows in full hanger. A staircase with a square screw, formerly leading to the bell tower, remains in the southwest corner.

The excavations and observations revealed the reuse of ancient materials, including capitals and marble plates, attesting to the historical continuity of the site since ancient times. Despite its state of ruin, the church retains significant architectural elements, such as ball-shaped modillons and adorned cornices, characteristic of southern Romanesque art. Its current isolation, at the end of an oak alley, reinforces its mysterious and historical character.

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