Originally, the Romanesque building had a Latin cross plan with an apse on each transept arm and a single nave. A first intervention was carried out in the Gothic period, perhaps after the Hundred Years War, at least on the vault of the south transept arm and the openings. The building suffered a lot of damage during the Wars of Religion (traces of fire in the north; mutilation of the upper parts of the transept; reconstruction of the sanctuary with a flat apse). The presence of stalls in the choir, which do not predate the 18th century, attests to the function of the conventual priory still at that time. Thirteen canons regular of the order of Saint Augustine were attached to it. In the 19th century saw the light of day the construction project of a bell tower that could serve as a berth for boats sailing on the Gironde. From 1857, the expansion of the church and the construction of the bell tower were recognized as essential. The architect Alaux's project was selected and the sculpture work on the new bell tower-porch was entrusted to the statuary Aristide Belloc. The old facade is demolished to make room for it. The western span of the nave has been lengthened. The apse has become flat and only the south apse of the transept has been preserved. The old exterior elements are in the residual state. Inside, in the crossing of the transept, the bundles of Romanesque columns have been preserved. Carved capitals bear witness to the original building (confronted animals, stylized foliage palmettes, foliage, interlacing). In the south arm of the transept, a molding resting on figure bases and a flattened capital decorated with three faces with departures of ribs, testify to the restorations and the heightening of the transept at the end of the Middle Ages (14th or 15th century).
This magnificent church building - originally Romanesque - was dedicated to the patronage of "Saint-ETIENNE". He was one of the first seven deacons of the original Jerusalem community and, according to the biblical accounts in the "New Testament", was also the first martyr (martyr) of early Christianity. The church commemorates his death on the second day of Christmas, December 26th. As the Acts of the Apostles report: When Stephen expressed his vision of the open heavens "But he, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Chapter 7, Verse 55), the people were so outraged that they drove him out of the city and stoned him.
Translated by Google •
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