Ancienne église Sainte-Catherine de Saint-Clar

About

The former St. Catherine's Church of Saint-Clar is a Catholic church dating back to the twelfth century, disused in 1862, which until then was the main church of Saint-Clar (Gers), in the Occitan region. She is more known today as "the church of d'Astros", according to Jean-Géraud d'Astros (1594-1648), a gascon poet, who was his parish priest.

Situation: The church is located in the heart of the district called Castet vielh ("old castle"), near the castle of the bishops of Lectoure, and constituting the nucleus of the primitive village, as opposed to the new Bastide linked to the "new castle" which was that of the lords.

The origins of the church are very controversial. It can be thought that it dates back to the 12th century, with many changes, especially in the 14th century. The deterioration that she suffered after her disengagement in the 19th century did not facilitate things. Some historians have hypothesized that it could have been an integral part of the castle, long gone but whose location, adjacent to the old ramparts, is known. The bell tower would have been a tower of the castle, whose base would have been the chapel. The documents...