Saint-Louis Church (1733 - 1737)
At the construction of the place were planed two churches: one at the Citadel, the other in town. The military chapel was built first one for the soldiers already in the place. It is in pure style of the 17th century.
Located in the center of the village, its facade opens on a small square. A sober portal, typicaly from the 17th century, dreeses two bull's-eyes, on the right and on the left to the door, tilted towards the center of the church to illuminate the choir.
From 1721, the new church intown construction is envisaged. Its works begin in 1733. On the same plan as the military church, that of the city is dedicated to Saint Louis (Louis the 9), grandfather of the King Louis XIV.
Facing East, the unique nave ended by a choir and lined by eight chapels. Over the centuries, the church embellished of altarpieces offered by notables and some elements coming from the military church after the French Revolution.
Push its door to discover decorated chapels, frescoes and altars.
• Chapel Notre-Dame de Lourdes and Saint Michael : fresco of the archangel bringing down the devil and floral motives (second half of the 17th century) ;
• Chapel Saint John the Baptiste : altarpiece offered by Jean Paris (1749) and front of the altar of Saint John the Baptiste caressing a lamb, the same floral motives as on the pilar or the altarpiece on the South side (second half of the 18th century) ;
• Chapel the Passion of the Christ: altarpiece The Virgin and the apostle Jean offered by the soldier Jean Bigo and his wife (1739), statue of the Christ human-sized on a polychromatic painted wooden crocifixion (end of the 17th century, inspirated by Rhenish style) ;
• Chapel Saint Peter : oil on canvas picture Put back of the keys of the church to Saint Peter (17th century) "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church... I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew XVI 18-19) ;
• Oratorical chapel: oil on canvas picture Saint Louis receiving the relics of the Cross (1736 - Pierre-Jean Rieudemont). To note on the pillar an ex-voto dedicated to Notre-Dame of the Hermitage of Font-Romeu (end of the 19th century) ;
• Virgin of the Rosary chapel: altarpiece The Madonna and child (firts half of the 18th century), sculpture showing some similarities with the altarpiece of Saint John the Baptiste (maybe golded by Joseph Viguet). In the showcase, a porcelain Virgin of the Carmel (19th century) with the child dressed in a brown velvet dress ;
• Chapel Saint Antony of Padua : tabernacle Annunciation and Visitation, small baroque set (beginning of the 18th century), Pieta oil canvas (1703 - Pezet de Narbonne) ;
• Chapel Saint Sebastian: oil canvas picture Martyr of Saint Laurent (19th century), statue of Saint Sébastien (19th century).
The choir and the high altar
The altarpiece decorating the choir is in polychromatic golded wood and comes from re-uses from the 17th and the 18th centuries. It presents six false marble painted columns, and between these columns Saint Joseph and Saint Louis (19th century) and two angels from the 17th century surrounding the Holy Sacrament cupboard and dressed fashionably in the reign of Louis XIV (hose in the classic art and very flexible hair in the wind). A statue of the Virgin open arms (18th century) surmounts the group. The colonnade is crowned by a guardapol or a dust-keeper on which thrones the dove flying out of a cloud wich represents the Holy Spirit.
At the center of the choir, the dark wooden altar is contemporary. It is a copy of the altarpiece. We notice the royalty emblems : hand of the Justice and Power sceptre.
A big altar lamp from the 17th century is suspended from the ceiling. At the bottom of the choir, the stained-glass window of the Lamb has been realized by Patrick Rancoule, glassworker (1998).