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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Mathieu de Salles-sur-l'Hers, located in the department of Aude in the Occitanie region, is a religious building whose construction extends mainly to the seventeenth century. Its bell tower-wall, characteristic of Romanesque architecture, was listed as historical monuments in 1926. The building combines elements of the 16th century (sanctuary, spans of the nave, chapels) and additions of the late 17th century (porch, fifth span, bell tower). A stone engraved in 1685 bears witness to major repairs at that time.

The bastide of Salles-sur-l'Hers, founded in 1271 by Alphonse de Poitiers, houses this church originally attached to the diocese of Mirepoix in 1317. The cure was then linked to the Saint-Étienne chapter of Toulouse. Inside, a statue of the Virgin Mary, recognized as miraculous by Pope Clement VIII in 1604, gave rise to an active pilgrimage until the nineteenth century. The bell tower, integrated with the west wall, has a triangular summit pierced by six Romanesque campan arcades.

The building consists of a nave with side chapels and a pentagonal bedside extended by a chapel. The vault of the sanctuary was rebuilt in the 19th century. Furniture and architecture thus reflect centuries of religious and local history, from the medieval foundation of the bastide to modern transformations. The church property today belongs to the town of Salles-sur-l'Hers.

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