Bourbonnais roman: église Saint-Julien de Meillers
The modern-day département of Allier is technically part of Auvergne, which encompasses the large mountainous area in the center of France. However, historically, it used to be the duchy of Bourbonnais, located just between Auvergne and Burgundy —two powerful neighbors. The duchy may have been quite smaller than such neighbors, it nevertheless was the fief of the Bourbon family, which gave many kings to France, reigned over other European countries and still is the royal house of Spain.
When you drive on the small back roads of France, you often see those enticing brown “heritage” signs that alert you to the nearby presence of an old church, a castle or another place of interest. I routinely complain about not having the time to do all those certainly very interesting détours. However, that day (the EXIFs tell me it was June 30, 2023), I decided to follow the brown sign that pointed me to the village of Meillers, and I was not disappointed, as my short visit to the local parish church, dedicated to Saint Julian, proved quite interesting indeed.
Saint-Julien is concerned by a restoration project funded by the Fondation du Patrimoine, for which I work as a pro bono photographer.
The façade is very impressive for a village church: a lot of skill and expertise was called upon to build this church, and one understands better how that came to be when one learns that this was a foundation of the Benedictine abbey of nuns of Saint-Menoux.
Built from 1180 until the early 1200s, i.e. towards the historical end of the Romanesque period, the church remains archaic-looking by choice and respect of tradition. It looks more like a church from the mid–1000s.
Bourbonnais roman: église Saint-Julien de Meillers
The modern-day département of Allier is technically part of Auvergne, which encompasses the large mountainous area in the center of France. However, historically, it used to be the duchy of Bourbonnais, located just between Auvergne and Burgundy —two powerful neighbors. The duchy may have been quite smaller than such neighbors, it nevertheless was the fief of the Bourbon family, which gave many kings to France, reigned over other European countries and still is the royal house of Spain.
When you drive on the small back roads of France, you often see those enticing brown “heritage” signs that alert you to the nearby presence of an old church, a castle or another place of interest. I routinely complain about not having the time to do all those certainly very interesting détours. However, that day (the EXIFs tell me it was June 30, 2023), I decided to follow the brown sign that pointed me to the village of Meillers, and I was not disappointed, as my short visit to the local parish church, dedicated to Saint Julian, proved quite interesting indeed.
Saint-Julien is concerned by a restoration project funded by the Fondation du Patrimoine, for which I work as a pro bono photographer.
The façade is very impressive for a village church: a lot of skill and expertise was called upon to build this church, and one understands better how that came to be when one learns that this was a foundation of the Benedictine abbey of nuns of Saint-Menoux.
Built from 1180 until the early 1200s, i.e. towards the historical end of the Romanesque period, the church remains archaic-looking by choice and respect of tradition. It looks more like a church from the mid–1000s.