Take part in the preservation and valorisation of the Romanesque churches of Southern Burgundy with the Route of the Romanesque and the Centre d’Etudes des Patrimoines (CEP)!
The CEP is an association, which has been working on Romanesque churches mainly in Southern Burgundy for more than 25 years. Every year in summer, it welcomes groups of architecture students from various countries creating an inventory of the churches by means of hand made and computer assisted measures of the churches in all their details. For the students, it is a precious opportunity to discover other cultures during a practical training.
A cultural itinerary touring all the Romanesque churches
Thanks to this inventory, the CEP has conceived an itinerary touring about 100 churches and equipped them with visitor information (panels, leaflets, QR-codes) in three languages (French, English, German). In a rural area where Sunday celebrations have become rare in most villages, this is an important means to keep the churches open to people who want to come and see or pray. The Itinerary is part of the European network TRANSROMANICA which has received the label “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” in 2007. The information leaflets of the CEP are also on display on the website of the pastoral service of the Catholic Church in Saône-et-Loire (Southern Burgundy).
100 Romanesque churches open to the public and 350 000 visitors per year
Thanks to the work of the CEP, about 100 churches are open every day and more than 350 000 people come and visit them each year. The documentation centre of the CEP has more than 6 000 books on architecture, history and archaeology, lots of PhD and MA theses, complete series of scientific journals on art and history – and more than 2 000 plans and architectural drawings of the Romanesque churches. This documentation is used by scientific researchers from France and from abroad as well as by local amateurs, not to forget the local communities when they restore their churches.
Unfortunately, public financing of the annual campaigns has undergone severe cuts since 2012. Thanks to the vast network of friends and members of the CEP, the campaigns have gone on, but they are less numerous. But without the campaigns, no inventory, no precise documentation and no valorisation, despite the numerous churches waiting to be integrated into the Route of the Romanesque.
Use of the collected money
The funds raised by this first campaign will be used for 3 architectural inventory campaigns during the summer of 2016. There are four types of expenses to be covered:
- Housing of the students and their professors (maintenance of the rooms, food): 12 000€
- Travel between the CEP and the churches (car hire and petrol): 3 000€
- Drawing material (paper, pencils,…): 500€
- Books and other documents on the churches to be measured in 2016: 500€
Help us to produce and share the knowledge about this artistic, historical and spiritual heritage unique in Burgundy! Thank you for your generosity!
CEP Web site: www.cep.charolais-brionnais.net
Credofunding Web site: www.credofunding.fr/fr/chemins-du-roman