Saint-Hilaire-la-Croix

What is the parish church of the tiny village of Saint-Hilaire-la-Croix today, was the church of a priory, depending from Mozat around 1165.
In the beginning the priory was named "Saint-Hilaire-lac-rouge", but over the time, the old name got a little "deformed". There is not much known about the priory. In the early years it served the pilgrims on their way - and somehow it was important enough, to built (and finance) such an extraordenary church. Bernard Craplet ("Auvergne romane") dates the building phase from around 1100 to 1200. Later Augustinian Canons and Vincentians lived here. Not a sucess story for the next centuries the buildings were sold already in 1742.

Standing in the back of the wide nave, facing east to the choir. The chuch is more than 36 meters long. Two aisles can be seen to the sides. There is a transept and (not to be seen from this pov) both sides of the transept have an apse. The capitals seen from here seem simple. More elaborated capitals are placed around the crossing, dated to 1175 by Bernard Craplet in "Auvergne romane".

The baptismal font in front is a "reused" romanesque capital.