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Origin and history

The church Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Bourganeuf, located in the Creuse in New Aquitaine, was built from the 12th century by the Knights of the Order of Saint-Jean-de-Jérusalem (future Knights of Malta). This site became the capital of the Langue d'Auvergne de l'Ordre, a title retained until 1787 despite an administrative transfer to Lyon in 1750. The original chapel, rectangular and with four spans, was built in the 12th century, with a south facade still well preserved. Documented exchanges between Abbé Bernard II (1177-1193) and the Hospitallers attest to his early importance.

In the 13th century, the octagonal bell tower was added, while the bedside span, vaulted with warheads, could date from this period or from the beginning of the 13th, as suggested by its resemblance to the church of La Souterraine (c. 1220). The Hospitallers, installed in 1096 or the beginning of the 12th century, transformed Bourganeuf into a strategic centre, with 53 commanderies under his authority. The Zizim Tower, built in 1484 by Guy de Blanchefort, symbolizes this power, as well as the arrangements undertaken by prior Jean de Lastic (master of the Order in 1427) under Charles VII.

The fifteenth century marked a phase of restoration and expansion: the first two spans were vaulted, and four side chapels added to meet the needs of a growing parish, served by a community of priests whose statutes were registered in 1506. The large flamboyant east-side window and the two-storey sacristy also date back to that time. After the collapse of the stone arrow in the 18th century (replaced in 1742), the church underwent major restorations in 1839 and 1856-1857, before it was ranked at the Historic Monuments in 1913.

The building thus combines elements of Romanesque (initial nave), Gothic (voûts, bell tower) and Renaissance (chapels), reflecting its evolution under the influence of the Hospitallers. Its history is inseparable from that of order, of which Bourganeuf was a high administrative and religious place until the Revolution. Medieval documents, such as those exchanged with the Cistercian Abbey of the Palais-Notre-Dame (1177-1205), underline its central role in the medieval Limousin.

Today, the church preserves traces of its many phases of construction, including the irregular dome bearing the bell tower (11th century) and the glass windows mentioned in an inscription of 1484. His original plan, with a single vessel of four spans, was enriched by late additions, testifying to the continuous adaptation of the building to the cultural and political needs of the hospital order.

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