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Saint-Hyacinthe Church
Religious building, Listed or registered (CNMHS), Historic site and monument
in Le Lorrain
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The first building dedicated to Saint Hyacinth, a 12th century Polish Dominican, dates back to the 17th century.
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Threatening to fall into ruins, it gave way to a second church, erected on another site and on a larger plan, in 1743. A century later, it was necessary to rebuild a new building, blessed in 1860 by Bishop Porchez. Like the parish churches of Basse-Pointe and Lamentin, that of Lorrain is significant for the introduction to Martinique of a new architectural style characteristic of the 19th century, and called "rectangular type".
The innovation it represents is of two kinds. The width of the...Threatening to fall into ruins, it gave way to a second church, erected on another site and on a larger plan, in 1743. A century later, it was necessary to rebuild a new building, blessed in 1860 by Bishop Porchez. Like the parish churches of Basse-Pointe and Lamentin, that of Lorrain is significant for the introduction to Martinique of a new architectural style characteristic of the 19th century, and called "rectangular type".
The innovation it represents is of two kinds. The width of the attic, equal to that of the ground floor, allows an original composition. The facade of Saint-Hyacinthe church is decorated with leaned columns that support the entablature and the cornice, the attic being surmounted by a pinnacle balustrade. The second innovation reveals the will of coherence between the decoration and the structure of the building. The bell tower, rebuilt in 1881, breaks with this homogeneity, marking by its reduced size and the use of wood a concern for adaptation to local climatic conditions.
In 1934, new work had to be carried out, and the 1946 earthquake destroyed the bell tower and cracked the building, leading to major repairs in 1953 to the entire building.
An interior and exterior restoration has been under way for several years.
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