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Origin and history

The Saint-Aubin church of Vieux-Pont-en-Auge, located in Calvados in Normandy, is a Catholic building dating from the late 10th or early 11th century. It has been listed as a historical monument since 1862 and dominates the Oudon Valley. Its primitive architecture, with rubble walls drowned in a thick mortar and horizontal chains of flat bricks, makes it one of the oldest Norman churches. The bell tower, after the chorus but contemporary of the nave, has carolingian characteristics, such as large apparatus links and archatures in full circle.

The epitaph of the bell tower, prior to the middle of the eleventh century, mentions Ranoldus, a Frank who financed its construction. The church follows a basic basilical plane with a nave of 14 m and a choir of 8 m, and is distinguished by a tower-clocher hanging to the south. Its construction technique blending small apparatus, bricks and limestone reflects Carolingian influences and links with Val-de-Loire, such as the church of Savennières near Angers.

The bell tower, the oldest in Calvados, is characterized by a small irregular apparatus base and subdivided bays, foreshadowing the Romanesque towers. The first floor, marked by billets and archatures in the middle of the wall, recalls the bell towers of Saint-Étienne de Caen or the Abbey of Jumièges. The western gate, modified in the 19th century, preserves traces of primitive narrow windows, curved and decorated with brick cords.

Inside, the furniture includes a table dedicated to Saint Aubin, side tables (Saint Martin, Holy Family), a polychrome statue of Saint Martin, a Trinity, and the old cock of the building. These elements testify to his continuing religious role since the Middle Ages. Arcisse de Caumont, in his monumental Statistique du Calvados (1867), emphasizes its importance as a rare example of Norman pre-Roman architecture.

The church, a communal property, remains an exceptional testimony of architectural transitions between the Carolingian and Romanesque periods. Its early ranking (1862) reflects its heritage value, while its location overlooking the Oudon makes it a historical landmark of the Pays d'Auge. Partial recoveries, such as the niche of the sixteenth century or the modifications of the nineteenth century, illustrate its evolution over the centuries.

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