Église Saint-Sylvestre-des-Brousses, church located in Hérault, in France

The église Saint-Sylvestre-des-Brousses is a 12th-century Romanesque church near Puéchabon, built of light grey limestone blocks. Its long south wall is mostly blank, pierced by small square holes and one narrow slit, with a round-arched doorway under a dark wooden double door. A square stone tower topped by a metal cross and a small bell rises above; a low tiled roof runs along the top.

The parish of Saint-Sylvestre is first mentioned in 1100, in a deed donating land to the abbey of Aniane. Benedictine monks served the church for nearly 600 years, leaving in 1658 for Saint-Pierre in Puéchabon. A 1658 visit by François du Bosquet prompted repairs. Confiscated as national property during the Revolution, it has belonged to the commune of Puéchabon since 1812 and was classified as a monument historique on 20 July 1918.

The name comes from Saint Sylvester, whose feast day is 31 December; the church was first recorded in 1100 in a deed granting land to the abbey of Aniane. Benedictine monks served it for nearly 600 years before leaving in 1658 for Saint-Pierre in Puéchabon. Inside, the chevet wall carries a painted decoration in red and yellow ochre.

The church stands off the modern main roads, a few hundred metres from the Arles route (Via Tolosana) toward Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert; the approach is on foot from Puéchabon. The south wall has no buttress, so the masonry and the small slit windows can be read from outside. The site lies in an olive grove cleared by the Vieux Oliviers de Puéchabon association, with vines nearby and a view south to Aniane and Saint-Jean-de-Fos.

The church stands a few hundred metres from the Arles route (Via Tolosona), one of the Compostela pilgrim ways, and the rectangular bell tower was probably added to the south side so pilgrims passing below could pick the church out. Its top was rebuilt in 1761.