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Origin and history

The Saint-Jean-Baptiste church of Saint-Jean-Ligoure, located in the Haute-Vienne department of New Aquitaine, is a religious building dating back to the 12th, 13th and 15th centuries. It was originally linked to the archiprired of the Mayze and built near the local castle, sheltering the burials of the local lords from the twelfth century. Its architecture combines a unique nave, a narrower square choir, and a chapel added in the 18th century on the south wall. The western portal, typical of the limousine style of the 13th century, is characterized by four broken arches adorned with tores and frieze, surmounted by a moulure archvolt.

The bell tower-wall, perpendicular to the axis of the church, is open with four arches in full hanger spread over two floors. Inside, columns fall on carved caps and adorned capitals, while a 13th century fire is built in the north wall. The choir, later reworked, now serves as sacristy and opens on the nave by a triumphal arch of the 12th century in pink granite, supported by pillars with Romanesque columns. The church, a communal property, saw some of its elements (clocher, portal, capitals, triumphal arch) protected in 1983, before a total inscription in 2019.

The location of the building, although documented (5166 Rue du 11 novembre 1918), remains of an accuracy deemed mediocre (level 5/10). Its history reflects its central role in local life, both as a place of worship and as a symbol of seigneurial power, with architectural changes reflecting stylistic and functional evolutions over the centuries.

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