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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint Martin d'Ur church, dedicated to Sant Martí in Catalan, is a Romanesque building located in the village of Ur in Cerdagne (Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie). Its first mention dates back to the tenth century in the Act of Consecration of the Cathedral of the Seu d'Urgell, but its current construction dates mainly from the eleventh century. The church illustrates the "first Romanesque art" or Lombar Romanesque art, characterized by its bedside in moellons, composed of a central apse and two apsidioles adorned with Lombardic bands (arcatures in the middle on lesenes). These elements, typical of early Romanesque buildings, include blind windows under the arches and a frieze of teeth gear over the apsidioles.

In the 18th century, the church underwent major transformations: the nave and the bell tower were deeply reshaped, with the addition of side chapels (Rosary and Christ), decorated with woodwork and paintings. The original bell tower, a bell tower on the west gable, is replaced by a square structure south of the abside, of which only the lower floor remains. In June 2023, an exceptional discovery was made: a medieval painted beam, dating from the 12th to 13th centuries, was exposed behind wooden panels, revealing an unsuspecting vestige of the Romanesque era.

Ranked as a Historic Monument on June 7, 1934, the Church of Saint Martin of Ur bears witness to the architectural and liturgical evolution of Cerdagne, between Lombard heritage and Baroque adaptations. Its bedside, intact, is a rare example of the first Romanesque art in Occitanie, while its subsequent modifications reflect the cultural and aesthetic needs of the 17th and 18th centuries. The presence of protected furniture (statues, ciborium) and the recent discovery of painted beam underline its heritage importance.

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