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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church of Old Bourg de Saint-Geniez-ô-Merle, built between the 14th and 15th centuries, stands on a height of the village. Ranked a historic monument in 1969, it now only preserves ruins: a bell tower-wall pierced and a fragment of the north facade. The western gate, adorned with a broken arch and nailed vantals, still bears witness to its original architecture. Disused in 1920 after the construction of a new church in Soult, it gradually fell into ruin, partially saved by the intervention of the inhabitants to the bell tower.

The Old Bourg site, dominated by the ruins of the church, is part of a landscape marked by local medieval history. Nearby, the towers of Merle, a 14th century castral ensemble, recall the strategic importance of the Maronne valley. The commune, rural and dispersed, has retained a heritage linked to its agricultural and seigneurial past, as also evidenced by the Romanesque cross of Rouzeyrol or the remains of the neighbouring castles. The decommissioning of the church reflects the demographic and religious changes of the region in the twentieth century.

Saint-Geniez-ô-Merle, located in Xaintrie (south of Corrèze), is a territory with marked reliefs, between forests (68% of the territory) and valleys dug by the Maronne and its tributaries. The climate, a mountain type with oceanic influence, and geographic isolation have preserved a widely dispersed traditional habitat. The church of Old Bourg, though ruined, remains a symbol of the historical anchoring of the village, between medieval heritage and adaptation to modern needs, such as the move of the cult to Soult in the early twentieth century.

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