The Romanesque Church of Mérignac

The Vieille Église Saint-Vincent stands on the rue de la Vieille-Église in Mérignac, France. It is the oldest surviving civil and religious monument in Mérignac, built between 1122 and 1131. The structure was constructed using rubble and covered with a timber frame. It has a nave and an apse, with the apses built in regular masonry and vaulted in a cul-de-four style. The cornices are decorated with sculpted modillons. The western portal is decorated with three arches supported by engaged columns.

Additions of late Gothic style concern the northern side and a ribbed-vaulted chapel, which replaced the northern Romanesque apse. The sculpted modillons at the chevet have an interest in the context of Romanesque iconography. The church was inscribed as a historic monument in 1987. It was damaged by a fire during the Fronde and restored at the end of the 17th century. It served for worship until 1876. The building was damaged by lightning in 2001 and was subsequently restored in accordance with the original design.

Today, the building serves as a cultural space. Since 2015, a medieval-inspired garden has been created around the church. The garden, the work of landscape architect Sabine Haristoy, includes vegetable, aromatic, medicinal, and dye-producing plants in beds enclosed by woven osier borders. A linear, channel-shaped fountain, evoking the presence of the stream la Devèze, completes this landscaping project.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons