I went to Lectoure's Friday market by 8 this morning, then stopped by the Mairie at 9, to pick up my badge and historical information for my assignment on Saturday afternoon for Patrimoine Weekend. Papa was ready when I got home at 9:15, and we left on our drive south of Lectoure, to visit several churches, two abbays, and a chateau.
Our first stop was in the village of Pessan, to visit the Abbaye Church, built in the 8th century, destroyed around 725, then restored by Charlemagne. It was ravaged again in the 9th century by the Normans and restored, later destroyed again by fire in 1250 and another restoration. In 1748, it was secularized and sold as national property in 1798. The abbaye was razed and its materials resold. In 1873, a parish priest worked to save what was left.
We drove just a few kilometers to the village of Castelnau-Barbarens. It is a hilltop village, crowned by a 13th century bell tower. Across the way is the old St. Nicolas church built in 1050, and behind it is the Sainte Quitterie church built in 1867.
Our next stop was at the Abbaye Cistercienne Sainte Marie de Boulaur. Founded in 1142, the church has frescoes dating to the 14th century, and the cloister dates from the 17th century. The Abbaye is active today, with 6 sisters.
We had lunch in Simorre, then visited the Eglise Notre Dame, founded in the 5th century, ruined in 722, rebuilt and attacked by the Vikings in the 9th century. It received significant donations from the 10th to 12th centuries, and was rebuilt in 1292. It was consecrated in 1309. It was sold after the French Revolution. The appearance of the building today is of a fortified church, as the result of renovations by Violet-le-Duc betwwn 1844 and 1858. Wall paintings dating to the 14th century, were discovered in 1964.
We stopped in Lombez, a village we stayed in overnight, a few years ago, and visited the Cathedrale Sainte Marie, built in the 14th century of brick, with a pink and white five tiered octagonal bell tower constructed in 1346.
We visited Samatan, a village we visited a few years ago, and just a few kilometers from Lombez. We walked about the village and up the hill to Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste. The front door was locked, so we enjoyed it from outside.
We returned to Lectoure by 5 in the afternoon, after a full day of visiting churches, and seeing more country chateaux than we could count.
