Saint-Savinian Church of Saint-Savinian en Charente

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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Saint-Savinien Church, located in Saint-Savinien in Charente-Maritime, is a Romanesque religious building built between the 12th and 13th centuries. It succeeds a priory mentioned in a charter of 1039, of which no vestiges remain today. Its history is marked by destruction during the Hundred Years War and religious conflicts of the sixteenth century, requiring several restoration campaigns.

The facade, sober and characteristic of the Saintongese novel, consists of two levels bounded by modillon cornices decorated with animal and human motifs. The gate, with five broken arches, is framed blind archatures, a layout resumed on the upper floor with a central bay flanked by similar archatures. The bell tower, rebuilt in the 14th century in a Plantagenet Gothic style, was initially to bear an arrow, but remains unfinished.

The interior, in the shape of a Latin cross, includes a single nave vaulted with dogive crosses, two crosses and a hemicylindrical apse with a ribbed arch. In the 19th century, major changes transformed the flat bedside into an apse and added a stand. The Notre Dame Chapel houses sixteen biblical statues. Partially classified in 1910 and registered in 2014, the church bears witness to the architectural evolution and historical tumults of the region.

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