Timeline

Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-de-Cenaret Chapel is a religious building located in the commune of Gorges du Tarn Causses, specifically in Saint-Chély-du-Tarn, a hamlet dependent on Sainte-Enimie, in the department of Lozère. It is distinguished by its remarkable position, hanging on the side of a cliff under a rock that marks the entrance to a cave. A natural spring from an underground lake flows nearby, adding a symbolic and landscape dimension to the site. The building, whose nave largely dates back to the 12th century, features a variety of architectural elements, showing multiple construction and restoration campaigns.

The chapel combines pre-Roman characteristics and subsequent additions, such as the 15th century gate or 14th century windows. Its triumphal arch, rough and slightly low, as well as some doubles, evoke ancient construction techniques, perhaps prior to the Romanesque era. The bedside, square in shape, fences the building, which was inscribed as historical monuments by order of 20 October 1987. Owned by the commune, the chapel remains a major architectural and historical testimony of the region, linked to a karst landscape typical of the Causses.

The successive architectural covers (XIIe, XIVe, XVe, XVIIe and 19th centuries) reflect a continuous occupation and veneration of the site. The chapel thus illustrates the evolution of liturgical styles and needs over the centuries, while maintaining a spatial unity marked by its integration into the relief. Its inscription as a historic monument underscores its heritage value, both for its history and for its exceptional natural setting.

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