Church of Saint-Antoine
The church of St. Anthony is dedicated to St. Anthony, the Egyptian whose body was brought back from Constantinople to La Motte aux Bois in the eleventh century. It is thought that in the 13th century the Baron de Calvinet founded the commandery of the hospital order of Saint-Antoine de Viennois on the site of the current church. Wars of religion contributed to the destruction of the hospital, with only the chapel of the Commandery surviving Calvinist destruction and the Revolution.
About this building
The Church of Saint-Antoine is located in Saint-Antoine in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The village of Saint-Antoine was first mentioned in official documents in 1221. The church was dependent on the parish of Leynhac and belonged to the Barony of Calvinet. It is dedicated to St. Anthony, an Egyptian, whose body was brought back from Constantinople to La Motte aux Bois in the eleventh century. It is thought that, in the first half of the thirteenth century, Baron Calvinet founded the command of the hospital order of Saint-Antoine de Viennois in this location.
Wars of religion contributed to the destruction of the hospital with only the chapel of the Commandery surviving the Calvinist destruction of the early sixteenth century, although it did suffer significant damage. The church was rebuilt by Jean Bourg in the seventeenth century who repaired the roofs, some walls and the bell tower. The structure was later damaged by the Revolution, requiring the bell tower to be rebuilt once again in its current form in the years 1860-1861.
The building is composed of a nave and a choir with a flat chevet. Two chapels, vaulted with ribs like the choir, open on the north side of the nave. A sacristy with a vaulted cradle is arranged below the bell tower. The tower has three levels and is surmounted by an steeple that is contiguous to the south side of the nave.
