Editing Conques (section)

==Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy==
{{Main|Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy}}
[[File:Saint Faith Abbey Church of Conques 22.jpg|thumb|left|The Sainte-Foy abbey church in Conques]]
The [[Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy]] in Conques was a popular stop for [[pilgrim]]s on the [[Camino de Santiago]] on their way to [[Santiago de Compostela]] in what is now Spain. The main draw for medieval pilgrims at Conques were the remains of [[Saint Faith]] ("Sainte-Foy"), a [[martyr]]ed young woman from the fourth century.

The original monastery building at Conques was an eighth-century oratory built by monks fleeing the [[Saracen]]s in Spain.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brockman|first=Norbert C.|title=Encyclopedia of sacred places|year=2011|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediasacr00broc|url-access=limited|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|isbn=978-1-59884-654-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediasacr00broc/page/n139 109]|edition=2nd}}</ref> The original chapel was destroyed in the eleventh century in order to facilitate the creation of a much larger church <ref name="W. S. Stoddard, Art and Architecture (1966)">{{cite book|last=Stoddard|first=Whitney S.|title=Art and Architecture in Medieval France|year=1966|publisher=Westview Press|location=Boulder, Co.|pages=35}}</ref>  as the arrival of the relics of Sainte-Foy caused the pilgrimage route to shift from [[Agen]] to Conques.<ref name="Brockman (2011)">{{cite book|last=Brockman|first=Norbert C.|title=Encyclopedia of sacred places|year=2011|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediasacr00broc|url-access=limited|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|isbn=978-1-59884-654-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediasacr00broc/page/n140 110]|edition=2nd}}</ref>  The second phase of construction, which was completed by the end of the eleventh-century, included the building of the five radiating chapels, the ambulatory with a lower roof, the choir without the gallery and the nave without the galleries.<ref name="W. S. Stoddard, Art and Architecture (1966)"/> The third phase of construction, which was completed early in the twelfth-century, was inspired by the churches of Toulouse and Santiago Compostela. Like most pilgrimage churches Conques is a basilica plan that has been modified into a cruciform plan.<ref name=Vernon12>{{cite journal|last=Vernon|first=Eleanor|title=Romanesque Churches of the Pilgrimage Road|journal=Gesta|year=1963|issue=Pre-Serial Issue|pages=12–15 [13]|doi=10.2307/766600 |jstor=766600 |s2cid=192619929 }}</ref> Galleries were added over the aisle and the roof was raised over the transept and choir to allow people to circulate at the gallery level.  The western aisle was also added to allow for increased pilgrim traffic.<ref name="W. S. Stoddard, Art and Architecture (1966)" /> The exterior length of the church is 59 meters. The interior length is 56 meters. the width of each transept is 4 meters. The height of the [[crossing tower]] is 26.40 meters tall.<ref name=Vernon14>{{cite journal|last=Vernon|first=Eleanor|title=Romanesque Churches of the Pilgrimage Road|journal=Gesta|year=1963|issue=Pre-Serial Issue|pages=14}}</ref>

The Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy was added to the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s in 1998, as part of the [[World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France]].  Its [[Romanesque architecture]], albeit somewhat updated in places, is displayed in periodic self-guided tour opportunities, especially of the upper level, some of which occur at night with live music and appropriately-adjusted light levels.