Our Blog - Maubec (Tarn-et-Garonne), France

I have added the department (Tarn-et-Garonne) to the title of this blog, because there are multiple towns with the same name. It is a tiny little village with a population of around 140 people. It is another one of these little villages that has been in a steady decline since the 1830's. The village sits atop a small limestone plateau which overhangs the a valley. White limestone is present everywhere in the town and the stone was used as the foundation for the old ramparts which encircle the town.

The ramparts have been mostly restored and Lucy was keeping watch on the wall.

The Church of Saint-Orens de Maubec dates from the 11th century but was burned in 1590 and rebuilt in 1595. The main feature of the church is the enormous octagonal-shaped bell tower porch. When the bells were updated so that they rang automatically, three cannonballs probably dating from the Wars of Religion in 1590 were found. Under this porch is the entry to the church, through a Renaissance portal surmounted by a triangular pediment supported by pilasters.

The inside of the church was quite interesting, with the ceiling being a combination of stone vaults in the nave but a flat wooden ceiling in the choir/apse. I also thought the columns around the side chapel were interesting, as it looked like they are topped by crowns. You can clearly see the gothic arches in the choir/apse, even though the ceiling is just the flat wood. I don't have many details on this church, so perhaps this part of the ceiling was burned and when it was rebuilt, they just did a flat roof.

Just a bit of detail with the main altar and the stained glass window behind it.

And of course, no church in France is complete without a statue of Joan of Arc.