Guided tour of the dome of the Holy Cross Church

Name: Visita guiada a la cúpula de la iglesia de la Santa Cruz
Start: 2023-09-16T16:00:00+02:00
End: 2023-09-16T18:00:00+02:00
Location: Église Sainte-Croix

If the Church of the Holy Cross in Oloron is in Romanesque style, its strange dome would come from Muslim Andalusia or, perhaps, Christian Armenia. Historian P-L. Giannerini will attempt to explain…

Sábado 16 septiembre 2023, 16:00Passed

Herramientas de registro

05 59 39 79 18 traitdunion.patrimoine@orange.fr

©Trait d'Union

If the church of the Holy Cross of Oloron is indeed of Romanesque style, its strange dome would come from Muslim Andalusia or, perhaps, from Christian Armenia. Historian P-L. Giannerini will try to explain this enigma during a guided tour.

Types d'événement

Visite commentée / Conférence

Thèmes 2023

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Conditions de participation

Gratuit i Sur inscription

Type de public

Tout public

About the location

Église Sainte-Croix

Place Abbé Menjoulet, 64400 Oloron-Sainte-Marie

Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Nouvelle-Aquitaine

The pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela encouraged the construction of buildings on the roads, especially at the end of the 11th century and at the beginning of the 12th century. Thus the Church of the Holy Cross was built, at the end of the reign of Gaston IV known as the Crusader (1090-1131). The success of this viscount in Spain, like the takeover of Zaragoza to the Muslims in 1118, undoubtedly financed the work. This church was dedicated to the Holy Cross, as was common in that period, even if no relic of the True Cross was kept there. Moreover, no tradition has kept the memory of such relics, so that to fill this gap, Abbé Menjoulet brought those of Saint Clement in 1861.
The building, dated to the end of the 11th century, recalls the crusades in which the Viscounts of Béarnais participated. Remarkable feature: a Mozarabic-inspired dome, supported by square ribs arranged in an 8-pointed star.