Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint-Nazaire church of Barbadosll, located in Bouleternère in the Pyrénées-Orientales, is a pre-Roman and Romanesque religious building, probably built before the year millet. It grew between the 11th and 13th centuries as a parish church in the village of Barbadosll, now extinct. Its typical architecture, with a rectangular nave and a slightly offset flat bedside, reflects the Catalan constructive traditions of the time. The building, topped by a bell tower-wall, is west-east oriented and features double arches supporting a cradle vault.

The village of Barbadosll declined from the fourteenth century due to a series of factors: recurrent floods of the Boulès, wars between the kingdoms of Aragon and Majorca, and plague outbreaks. Despite the gradual disappearance of the village, the church remains a place of worship thanks to the donations of the inhabitants of Bouleternère. In the 18th century, it became a hermitage maintained by religious, thus avoiding total abandonment during the French Revolution. However, in the 19th century, it was transformed into an agricultural building and then a home, which severely degraded its structure.

The restoration of the church began in 1997, when the three owners of the site founded the association Els amics de Sant Nazari de Barbadosll. Thanks to voluntary work and grants, the building is restored to its medieval appearance: the nave is unobstructed, the lauze roof is redone, and the walls are consolidated. Archaeological excavations reveal ancient hydraulic installations (walls, canals) designed to protect the church from the frequent floods of the Boulès. Today, the church, disused but preserved, bears witness to the rural and religious history of the Conflict.

The building preserves traces of 18th century painted decorations, including floral inscriptions and motifs near the triumphal arch. Its name, Barbadosll, of Latin origin (Barbatellus), evokes an old agricultural estate. The church, initially dependent on the priory of Serrabone, also illustrates the importance of hermitages in Roussillon after the depopulation of the countryside. Its recent rescue makes it a remarkable example of the preservation of Catalan Romanesque heritage.

The chapel is surrounded by hydraulic remains (digue, losangic canal) attesting to past efforts to control floods. These developments, combined with the fertility of the surrounding lands, explain why the site housed hermits until the 18th century. Despite the transformations, the church remains a historical marker of the link between local communities and their mountainous environment, marked by floods and geographical isolation.

External links