The Beaujolais revisited

The last time we were in the Beaujolais was not just to visit some Romanesque churches; we were also on a pilgrimage to Clochemerle. And because the ability of a human being to absorb Romanesque churches is indeed limited, we decided to leave the remaining churches worth a visit in the area for what they were, and simply return some other time.
So on a fine day we packed the car and drove again to the Beaujolais area. The first port of call was Beaujeu, the "capital" of the Beaujolais. The travel guide indicated that the bell tower of the Saint-Nicoals in Beaujeu (1130) was something special, and that certainly turned out to be true.

Clocher - Beaujeu

From Beaujeu we continued our quest to the north, with Avenas as the first stop after Beaujeu. The old roman road connecting Autun with Lyon runs throug this picturesque village, which has a 12th century church, the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption. The church itself is interesting, but what makes it really worth the detour is the white limestone altar. The front shows Christ, seated in a mandorla with on the four corners the tetramorph.
On each side of the mandorla 6 apostles are shown seated. The sides of the altar show scenes from the life of Mary (left hand side) and a depiction of the donor (right hand side), possibly King Louis VII, although the inscription at the bottom does not mention him.

Altar - Avenas

The last two churches, those of Ouroux and Saint-Mamert are not even mentioned in my Michelin guide, hence I cannot say much more about them than that these are nice churches.
The Saint-Antoine in Ouroux has some interesting arcatures in the apse. The original nave seems to have been replaced by a new one.

Arcature - Ouroux

The Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Saint-Mamert preserves, with the exception of the nave, its original state. The old nave was wider, which is obvious when one considers one of the bricked-up passages berrichons. I found a brochure in the church about its history, hence the accurate information about the date of construction.

Passage berrichon - Saint-Mamert

An overview of a number of churches in the Beaujolais is given on this map.

And again we managed to do it, during this second trip through the area: driving through lush vineyards, and returning home without having drunk even one sip of Beaujolais wine!

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