Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: blind arcade

The first Christian church was built here at the site of a Roman temple in the 4th century. A tree nave basilica existed in the 9th century. A Romanesque cathedral was built, when Bishop Warmund (= Warmondo) had his episcopal see here, end of the 10th century. It is known, that this church had a "westwerk", following the Ottonian architecture, popular at that time north of the Alpes. Alterations and rebuildings were undertaken in the 13th, 15th and 16th century. In 1785 it was rebuilt again in a Baroque style. The eastern part of the church, with the crypt (previous upload), the apse and the two towers suvived the "modernisation" of the 18th century, though most windows of the apse and the blind arches got bricked up.

Strolling around at nightfall in Arezzo. The apse of Santa Maria della Pieve with blind arcades and open galleries. Seen from the Piazza Grande.

In 1082 some Seigneur Dalmas and his wife Étiennette gave all the properties they owned in "Castrumin Montanis", including a church, to Cluny. This legal act was important enough to get an official approval from Pope Urban II in 1095. A priory was set up - and a small church was erected. Parts of this church can still be found in the church seen here, built 1100 - 1200. The priory never really flourished, the community of monks was small - and already from 1462 on, the church was used as a parish church. The church is quite large for a remote village of a population well under 500 (today). When it was planned during the boom of pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella, Châtel-Montagne was ideally placed on one of the many "Chemin de St-Jacques" in France. The semicircular choir and the ambulatory around it. Ambulatories are common in churches, visited by many pilgrims, as so the masses could easily walk around the altar, where relics were kept. Here the choir has six pillars. The capitals have floral decorations. Behind the pillars two of the apse chapels can be seen. Above is a blind arcade with three windows.

Notre-Dame is the parish church of Biron, a village 6kms east of Pons. Once the church was dedicated to Saint-Eutrope as a relic of "Saint Eutropius of Saintes", who came to the region to evangelize the Gauls in the 3rd century, was kept here. Erected within the 12th century the church got fortified soon after. During the 15th/16th century it got enlarged, the apse got vaulted and a chapel was added. The well balanced western facade of Notre-Dame. Three arches and above eleven blind arcades. Carved friezes run along the wall.