Saint-Martin-de-Londres

The village of Saint-Martin-de-Londres has one of the best preserved Romanesque monuments in Languedoc through its church, hidden behind a medieval wall, halfway between Montpellier and the Cévennes.

In the 11th century, Romanesque art which spread in Languedoc was characterized by a strong Lombard influence.

In the Hérault, at Saint-Martin-de-Londres, it manifests itself in the church built at the beginning of the century by the monks of the abbey of Saint-Guilhem-du-Désert on one of the paths of Saint- Jacques de Compostelle (Arles route). Historical monument, it never ceases to intrigue: why such a masterpiece of architecture, such ornamental wealth, in this small village? The story, long and fascinating, deserves a stop. The building is set in a fortified enclosure to which lean the houses of character.

The "first Romanesque art" bursts forth in its simplicity and harmony on the walls of the church. Inside, the architecture is consistent with the time, but shows imagination (trefoil plan, dome, sculpted decoration). A second later wall is based on the first, delimiting, to the south, the medieval village with its characteristic houses.

Stroll through the alleys and descend to the square shaded by hundred-year-old plane trees then linger by the fountain.

What origin for "London"? In Celtic times, Llyn dinas, which became the city of London, referred to "the hill of the pond" among our English neighbors. In Languedoc, Loundro would have meant "mud, stagnant waters" and the terms Lundras, Lundrias, Doundras, which after mutation gave London, were used in medieval writings to characterize the valley which is now dry. However, it often remains drowned in the mist escaping from soils once invaded by swamps.