Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Church of St. Cyr finds its roots in the fifth century, when Saint Sever, evangelizer of the Novempopulania, founded a primitive church dedicated to the holy children martyred in Cyrice. This first place of worship is part of an ancient context marked by the close presence of a Gallo-Roman villa, whose remains (fourth century mosaics, thermal baths, and rooms organized around a courtyard) were discovered in 1868. These excavations revealed an exceptional mosaic iconography, showing the importance of the site in Roman times.

The present building preserves traces of its original 11th century, including the ground floor of the south tower, built with irregular rubble reused from the ruins of the ancient villa. At that time, the church, modest, had a carpented nave and a tiny apse (2 m wide). Major transformations took place in the 11th century: enlargement of the nave, construction of a new apse, and addition of slots to the tower. The narrow windows, still visible under the recent coatings, date from this phase.

The following centuries brought about significant changes: in the 15th century, a northern collateral was added and then reproduced south side in the 19th century. A masonry staircase replaces the primitive access (probably a ladder) to the first floor of the tower. The 16th century saw the construction of a moulured western gate, while the 19th century extended the nave of a porch. The furniture, entirely redone in the 19th century, includes a neoclassical altarpiece with false marble columns and a painting of the Crucifixion, perhaps inspired by the ancient remains of the surrounding area.

Outside, a Passion Cross decorated with symbols (lance, whip, sun, moon) recalls the religious vocation of the site. The ancient mosaics discovered in 1868, although not visible in the church, underline the link between this medieval place of worship and its Gallo-Roman heritage, merging pagan and Christian history.

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