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Notre Dame de Colombier

Bordering the Minervois, the chapel Notre Dame de Colombier, is an outstanding and ancient landmark, rising above the vineyards of Languedoc. About half a mile north of the rural village Montbrun-des-Corbières, she stands firm among the many churches of primal South-France Roman art in this area. What makes this chapel from the 11the and 12the century an exceptional example is not only her structure and ornaments. It is in fact her “grandeur” in the landscape. She is majestically large, standing lonesome but powerful is these fields. There are documents that let us suspect that this chapel was once much more than an ancient “field chapel”

For ages, Notre Dame de Colombier, has been standing in a state of oblivion, until at last, in 1950, she was officially classified a historic edifice. Since then, she has had only three restorative projects: the belfry in 1952; the western façade in 1963 and recently, the wooden entrance gate.

“The first moment I saw her I fell in love with her. Perhaps because she carries a beautiful legend. My love grew during the years since we first met. She did not let go of me. But she is in danger. Such a remarkably precious gem in the grand constellation of cultural heritage must not perish. I hear her calling out loud: “Au secours!”…”Help!” Yes, she calls me for help to survive.”  

(Père Theo van Osch).

But the small community of Montbrun-de-Corbieres cannot solely answer her call, with only 300 inhabitants. And for the local parish, the financial burden is too great. There are too few subsidiary channels for far too many ancient monuments. In short: 

Help with restoration and maintenance by donating to the Foundation

‘Amis Notre Dame des Colombier’.

IBAN number: NL20RABO 0157575225
in name of Stichting Amis Notre Dame de Colombier
VAT number: NL855903661B01

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