The St Pierre-Es-Liens church in Haut-Langoiran, a marvel to visit just 30 minutes from Bordeaux

Un Village en Gironde immerses you in the heart of the history of one of the most beautiful romanesque churches in Gironde. Come and discover its architecture, its history, its breathtaking view from the heights. It dominates the Garonne and the hills of Langoiran (because we are 67m above sea level and that the Pyrenees are visible when the sky is released).

The St Pierre Es-Liens church, a 1000 years old church!

Come and discover all its history and the explanation of its architecture through our audio guide on the village of Langoiran. Its architecture, refurbished over the centuries, has made it unique both in its exterior beauty and in the soul it exudes. It was classified as a historical monument in 1908.

Like all churches, the charismatic one of St Pierre-Es-Liens has seen moments of sorrow such as funerals and moments of joy such as weddings, baptisms, communions. The parish priests probably heard within these walls the sins of the parishioners who came to confession to relieve themselves of the weight of their neighborhood sins…. secrets that they may have kept or not…

The story says that once a year, the priest let young people from the village ring in groups, the only bell of the bell tower, cast in 1827 during the reign of Charles X. In 1956, the lucky young men chosen rang so powerfully the bell that this one split!! Following this, the municipality decided to melt this bell again to form two new ones. What was done in 1957, the first bell bears the inscriptions "Pierrette-Simone" 220kgs and the second "Michelle-Marie" 350kgs. These two bells, which still sit in the bell tower today, were baptized on February 16, 1958.

The ETAVIE association guarantees the renovation of the St Pierre-Es-Liens church in Haut Langoiran

The ETAVIE association, chaired by Mr Torguet, who is incidentally knowledgeable about the history of Langoiran, takes care of raising the funds necessary to preserve this magnificent romanesque church of more than a thousand years.

In January 2021, restoration work began on the stained glass windows with their very deteriorated wooden frames. In April 2021, the four very worn steps of the stone staircase in the bell tower were renovated. The ten windows on the west side have been redone and five stained glass windows have been renovated. The association has not yet raised the necessary funds to renovate the stained glass windows representing Sainte Germaine de Pibrac located in the Chapel.

Mr Torguet, if you contact him, will be happy to take you to discover the mechanism of the clock located in the bell tower. The clock was financed in 1916 by Marguerite Abaut, from an illustrious Langoiran family. Resident of the house opposite the church, she wanted to install a clock to see the time from her window. The clock was ordered from the watchmaker F.Grignand in Bordeaux and delivered in 1917.

Until 2018 the mechanism, a very beautiful rustic and reliable mechanism, which is still the original one, was located behind the dial, accessible via a ladder. This is why the ETAVIE association undertook to lower it by one floor to make it easy to access. Today, every 6 days, someone comes to wind the mechanism manually with a crank, while the 2 bells are automated.

If you also wish to participate in preserving this beautiful church, you can make a donation to the ETAVIE association, your gesture will be very appreciated!