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The Romanesque church of St Nicolas in
the small village of Tavant, 20km east of Chinon, was built at the beginning
of the 12th century to replace an earlier priory church which was destroyed
by fire in an apparent fit of pique by a local landlord. Even this church
however has, like so many others in the area, undergone a number of changes
– the original 12th century church consisted of a nave and two
aisles of which only the nave remains. The choir has also been adapted to
provide access to the bell tower.
The inside is quite simple until you reach the altar with its
delightful frescoed
dome ceiling but the main attraction here lies in the small crypt of the
church.
Entrance to the church is free but there is a charge of
€ 3.00/person
to get the door of the crypt open. Once inside, which is very small you are
given a chart and translation of the frescos which now look down on you. These
are apparently unique in the stories they depict - you will have to judge
for yourself in terms of appeal, though from a historical point of view,
fascinating.
Crypts
in France we have two uses - one as tombs and the other like here
in Saint-Nicolas to house relics brought back from the crusades. It was
certainly too small to hold many bodies. We had thought that the little
nooks in the side walls were for holding small statues but no, in the past
these would have been opened up as windows to view the relics contained
inside. You are not allowed to take photographs - the one above is courtesy of the village website.
www.communedetavant.fr/eglise.php
Much as
we were impressed with St.Nicolas, as we were leaving we couldn't help but wonder if it might have been better
to have visited here before going on to the nearby church at
Rivière
- there might have been less of an anti-climax.
Please check the website of the village* for opening times as
they vary month to month.
External links:
www.communedetavant.fr*
Website of village showing photographs of crypt.
Blogroll:
chezcharnizay.blogspot.fr
Good detailed photographs here.
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"Author: Jim
Craig"
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