Conques

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Coordinates: 44°36′01″N 2°23′50″E / 44.6002777778, 2.39722222222

Administration
Commune of Conques View of the village and church
Location

Country	France
Region	Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Aveyron
Arrondissement	Rodez
Canton	Conques
Statistics
Elevation	221 m–663 m (avg. 442 m)
Land area^¹	30.51 km²
Population^² (1999)	302
- Density	9.9/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	12076/ 12320
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.

The Sainte-Foy abbey-church in Conques

Church doors

Conques (Concas in occitan) is a village and commune in the Aveyron département of southern France.

1 Geography
2 Sainte-Foy abbey-church
3 Gallery
4 External links

[edit] Geography

The village is located at the confluence of the Dourdou and Ouche rivers. Built on a hillside and with classic narrow Medieval streets, vehicles other than those belonging to residents may not enter the historic town centre but must park outside. Consequently, most day visitors enter on foot and, as at least one overnight visitor has observed, the majority of the tourists depart in the late afternoon, leaving the town much less crowded. The town was largely passed by in the nineteenth century, and was saved from oblivion by the efforts of a small number of dedicated people. As a result, the historic core of the town has very little construction dating from between 1800 and 1950, leaving the medieval structures remarkably intact. The roads have been paved, and modern-day utility lines are buried.

[edit] Sainte-Foy abbey-church

The Sainte-Foy abbey-church in Conques was a popular stop for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela, in what is now Spain. Its construction was begun on the foundations of a smaller earlier basilica, directed by the abbot Odolric (1031-1065) and completed around the year 1120. It was built in Romanesque style, using a warm-colored local limestone infilled with a local gray schist. The daringly large dome that originally covered the crossing later collapsed and was replaced in the 15th century.

The main draw for medieval pilgrims at Conques were the remains of Sainte Foy, a martyred young woman from the 4th century. Her name has been assimilated into the general conception of 'Holy Faith.' In the late 9th century, a monk from Conques allegedly stole these relics from a nearby monastery in order to draw travellers (and wealth) to Conques. The church that was eventually built had a double purpose: to accommodate the flock of pilgrims and at the same time to allow a community of monks to gather for the divine office seven times a day. Thus, Sainte-Foy has been designed like a pilgrimage shrine but also as an abbey-church. To serve the inhabitants of the town, a separate parish church was erected, dedicated to Saint Thomas of Canterbury. This smaller church is no longer standing.

In the 19th century, the author and antiquary Prosper Mérimée, appointed the first Inspector of Historical Monuments, inspired thorough restorations.

The Sainte-Foy abbey-church was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1998, as part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. Its Romanesque architecture, albeit somewhat updated in places, is displayed in periodic self-guided tour opportunities, especially of the upper level, some of which occur at night with live music and appropriately-adjusted light levels. A particularly interesting aspect of the church is the set of carvings of the "curieux" (the curious ones) who are peeking over the edges of the tympanum arch.

The late Hannah Green, an accomplished writer, penned a non-fiction work about Conques and the church entitled, "Little Saint".

[edit] Gallery

Conques hermitage	Entrance gate to Conques - the Port du Barry	Conques rooftop vista	Abbey-church doorway carving
Abbey-church doorway carving detail	Abbey-church doorway carving detail	Abbey-church doorway carving detail	Abbey-church doorway carving detail
Abbey-church doorway carving detail	Abbey-church doorway carving detail	Conques coat of arms	Conques panorama