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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Privat de Reilhac, located in the hamlet of Reilhac in Mazeyrat-d'Allier (Haute-Loire), is a Romanesque building built on the edge of the 11th and 12th centuries. It was part of a Benedictine monastery attached to the abbey of the Chair-God, and served as a traditional refuge for tired monks. This priory, the oldest possession of the Order of Cluny in the region, today preserves only its chapel, which became parish church after the destruction of the ancient by the floods of 1700.

The architecture of the church reflects its monastic origin: a unique nave preceding a cross covered with a dome on trunks, extended by a choir in cul-de-four. Outside, a built-up bell tower, rebuilt in the 19th century, dominates the building. The enlarged part, called the Grange aux tithes, bears witness to its agricultural and religious past. The church, rebuilt in the 15th century and restored in 1998, houses remarkable furniture, including 17th to 18th century statues and oil paintings.

Classified as a historical monument in 1949, the church of Saint-Privat illustrates the Romanesque heritage of Auvergnat and its link with the great medieval monastic orders. Its liturgical furnishings, including a silver frame (1863) and a golden wooden altar (17th–15th centuries), underscore its continuing role in local religious life. The oral tradition evokes its use as a place of spiritual retreat for the monks of the Chair-God, although the written sources remain limited on this point.

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