Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Saint-Chély-du-Tarn, Romanesque church in Gorges du Tarn Causses, France
Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption is a Romanesque church with a rectangular plan: a single barrel-vaulted nave leading east to a very short choir and a five-sided apse, also barrel-vaulted, with two short side chapels forming a transept. The nave vault rests on two Romanesque columns with Corinthian capitals above the two-leaf entrance, and the apse vault sits on five semicircular arches carried by columns with Corinthian capitals. Outside, light beige stone blocks, a square tower with a steep grey slab pyramid roof and a round-arched base sheltering a metal stair.
This building was first documented in 1155 and originally had ties to the nearby Sainte-Enimie monastery. It became a classified historical monument in 1984, securing its protection for future generations.
The church belonged to the priory of Sainte-Enimie, and its single nave is covered by a barrel vault resting on two Romanesque columns with Corinthian capitals above the two-leafed entrance. The five-sided apse vault springs from five semicircular arches on columns with Corinthian capitals, and a third side chapel was probably added later.
The church stands in the hamlet of Saint-Chély-du-Tarn, about 4 km southwest of Sainte-Enimie in the Gorges du Tarn. It is reached from the D907 road; the low stone wall in front borders the village lane. The building is a classified monument, so visits are usually limited to the exterior and the open porch.
The church is Romanesque, built at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, and was subordinate to the priory of Sainte-Enimie. Its first written mention is a document from 1155, and it has been protected as a French cultural monument since 5 December 1984.
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