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Origin and history

The Saint-Martin de Montagne church, located in the Gironde department in Montagne, is a religious building built mainly in the twelfth century. Its history remains partially unknown due to fragmentary archives, but it was mentioned in 1398 among the parishes of the diocese. The building presents a Latin cross plan typical of the Romanesque era, with a unique nave vaulted in the 19th century, a salient transept, and a bedside composed of three apses. Four types of vaults coexist: cul-de-four pour les apsides, cupola à pendants dans le arme nord du transept, arch in cradle broken in the south arm, and a nerve dome on the square of the transept, announcing the Gothic. The square bell tower, crenelated during the Hundred Years War, dominates the cross of the transept.

In 1569, the church was united with the dean of Saint-Émilion by the archdiocese, then erected in perpetual vicary in 1621 by the Cardinal of Sourdis. The archives show little degradation by the Huguenots. Two minutes ordered by the same cardinal document his condition at that time. Major restorations took place in the 19th century: in 1866, under the direction of architect Labbé, the nave was rebuilt, as was the structure, the cover, and the vaults of the transept. A second campaign, led by Hostering in 1880, concerned the south transept and the bedside. In particular, these works transform the southern entrance, with a tympanum dated 1870, while retaining some original Romanesque patterns.

The remarkable elements include the 12th century modillons, including six figuratives (loup, clinging monks, lions, bears), and a typical iconography of Roman art. Inside, the nave rebuilt in the 19th century houses sculpted capitals of that time, while the apsides and the north transept welcome altars dedicated to St Joseph, St Martin, Our Lady and the Sacred Heart. Behind the main altar, a funeral hall contains the graves of local families, including the Calvimont, owners of the Castle of the Mountain Tours. The stained-glass windows of the south abside and absidiole, made by Gustave Pierre Dagrant between 1893 and 1896, complete a classic furniture (chair, confessional, baptismal fonts).

Around the church, a canonial dial on the southern absidiole and a Maltese cross engraved on a northern foothill testify to its liturgical and symbolic use. Several sarcophagi are exposed near the bedside. Classified as a Historical Monument on December 1, 1908, the church illustrates the architectural and religious evolution of the Gironde, mixing Romanesque heritage and modern interventions.

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