Gensac-la-Pallue - Saint-Martin

Gensac-la-Pallue is a small town, about 10kms southeast of Cognac, with a population of 1500. Saint Martin is the large parish church of the town. It is not known, who financed this church, when it was erected within the 12th century (the choir and tower were added a century later) and there are no obvious connections to one of the important abbeys of the area, but for a parish church, built on swampy grounds, this is a pretty prestigious structure.

Saint-Martin has an extraordenary western facade, that is basically typical for the Saintonge with the two blind arches, flanking the central portal. But not many churches in the Poitou have three (!) horizontal registers/levels with a kind of rythm: 3 arches, topped by 5 arches, topped by 6 arches. There are no carved archivolts, but a long frieze-like band extending over the facade.

Two large mandorla-carvings are symmetrically placed. On the left side the Virgin, on the right St. Martin Of Tours, seen as the bishop holding a crozier. Both are surrounded by angels.