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Origin and history

The church Saint-Géraud de Lempdes-sur-Allagnon, located in the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, is a building dating back to the 11th century. Built in 1078 by the Clunisian abbey of Sauxilanges, it was then granted to him. From this medieval period, only the general structure and some capitals remain, while the apse and transept date from the late 11th and 12th century. The first span seems to date back to the 16th century.

The original state of the church was preserved until 1833, when the gable and its campanile were demolished to be replaced by the current bell tower. In 1880, after the establishment of the Third Republic, the motto "Freedom-Equality-Fraternity" was inscribed on the façade, erased in 1940 under the Vichy regime and restored in 1945. This particularity is rare for a church. The building was listed as historical monuments in 1956.

The church architecture is characterized by two vaulted bays of ridges and a third surmounted by a tube dome. The hemicircular, cul-de-four vaulted Heabside houses an 18th century glory. Chapels form a transept, and a large arc adorned with paintings gives access to the rostrum. Baptismal fonts, added in the 19th century, complete this architectural ensemble.

The history of the church is also marked by its connection with the commune, as evidenced by the inscription "French Republic. Communal property" affixed under the bell tower. This monument thus reflects the political and architectural evolutions of France, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era.

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