SAINT-PRÉJET CHURCH

Saint-Préjet-du-Tarn is a Romanesque church overlooking the Tarn River. It is the former parish church of the hamlet of Saint-Préjet, which was located opposite the hamlet of Les Vignes. Its first mention dates from 1155, but its construction is probably earlier. The monks of the Rozier monastery appear to have played a significant role in its construction. Saint-Préjet has retained its Romanesque character through the overall structure of the building (a single nave opening onto a three-sided apse decorated with an arcade, flanked by two apsidal chapels) and its barrel vaulting. On the exterior, the corbels of the chancel, featuring sculpted human and animal figures, date from the 12th century. Alterations in the 17th century added the side chapels, and in the 19th century, the porch was built to shelter the church entrance. A painting of the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, painted by D. Tuzet and restored in 2006, is installed against the wall of the nave.