A little history of Saint-André church in Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise
And also
The tops
A small village which used to be a fief of the La Tour d'Auvergne family, in the Middle-Ages. Besse is waiting for us, with its Romanesque church raised in the 12th century and altered in the 17th century.
In June 1498, pope Alexander VI raised the little church to a collegiate. It housed a statue of Virgin Mary, so pilgrims came in a body!
They raised a bigger church in the 14th century and rebuilt the choir. In the 17th century, they added lateral chapels and they transformed the porch.
During the Revolution, ouch... destructions! They demolished the bell-tower then they razed a square tower which was part of the defensive system of the city.
In the middle of the 19th century, the primitive plan of the choir was altered and the bell-tower re-raised, first with a small lantern, then with a spire in 1862.