Last week, I posted photos of the outside of eleven half-timbered churches in the area known as “Wet” Champagne. I thought you might like to see what they are like inside. Unfortunately, the last three churches were closed by the time we got there. The recurring feature of course is the timber frame, sometimes unfortunately covered up with a false ceiling. One of the sad things I find about churches in France is that the original decoration and period are rarely respected when additions are made such as altars and stations of the cross. It should be remembered that, for the most part, these are country churches.
You can see that the 19th century ‘improvers’ got to some of these churches certainly. What you want with additions and alterations is respect but not imitation. New bits should clearly reflect their own time, otherwise what you end up with is nonsensical historical pastiche. They are fascinating — I’d love to know more about them.
You can get quite a lot of documentation from the local tourist office and each church has an individual information panel outside.
Gorgeous! Love old churches. Thank you. Barb
Glad you enjoyed them!