ÉGLISE NOTRE-DAME-DE-LA-PITIÉ DE BOUSSAGUES

The parish church was the seat of the archpriest of Boussagues, which was in a way the religious capital of the region. In Romanesque style, this church was built outside the city walls. Its choir dates from the end of the 12th or the beginning of the 13th century. Following a collapse, the 12th century nave had to be rebuilt in 1520, as well as the bell tower and the sacristy. This new nave could not be rebuilt in the axis of the choir, which is why the church today has an off-centre choir with an important angle, almost unique in its kind. The chevet is semi-circular. The main entrance to the west was redesigned in the 19th century. The upper part of the chevet was raised in the 16th century to establish a defence system. At the level of the choir there was an access leading to a crypt, a passage that was filled in voluntarily. On the north wall, the Porte des Morts (Gate of the Dead) was connected to the former cemetery, under the present Place de la Vierge, until the 19th century.

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