Lacrouzette: capital city of granite

This village is a pilgrimage to granite country. The church of Notre-Dame du Granit is a prime example. Nicolas Greschny painted the fresco of the Apocalypse here in 1959, and in 1994 local sculptor Jacques Bourges created the monumental engraving of the side aisles using his patented process, the only one of its kind in the world, which consists of drawing small elements in relief using cast shadows.

In the village, the statue of the Granite Cutter, another work by Jacques Bourges, is an ode to the craft of stone-cutting. The Théron fountain, with its granite slab roof, is proof of the ancient use of this material. Another more contemporary « monumental » fountain is also a fine example of granite creation.

Continue your pilgrimage to the Land of Granite by visiting the village and the houses with granite frames, the trompe-l’oeil wall, the façade of the town hall or the presbytery …
Don’t miss a visit to the small public garden of the village to stroll among the granite balls.

The small story of the granite church:
To choose the location of the church, a pair of oxen was harnessed and free to move forward. After a while, the harness stopped. This is where the parish church was built.
It was rebuilt in 1840 and enlarged in 1860 with the chapel of Saint-Joseph and that of the Virgin. The pilasters of these two chapels are disparate because the work was entrusted to two workers. It was further enlarged in 1866 with the construction of a bell tower wall surmounting the porch.