Iglesia de Santa Eugenia

Religious | Santa Eugènia

Architecturally, this primitive temple is unknown, but it must have been a simple building, of Gothic tradition and with a wooden and tile roof. Administratively it depended on the parish of Santa Maria and in 1603 it became a vicarage by order of Bishop Joan Vich, with the installation of the reserve of the Holy Sacrament. The primitive gothic oratory became too small due to the increase in population and at the end of the 17th century it became necessary to build a new church, the present church was built between 1699 and 1716, with later additions, such as the Purísima chapel (built between 1839 and 1841), the present bell tower (around 1850), the transept and the chancel, with the presbytery (between 1863 and 1869). In 1913, during the reign of Bishop Pere Campins, the vicarage in capite of Santa Eugènia was converted into a parish church. The main façade has a quadrangular facing with a flat top in the form of a cornice or horizontal molding. The main doorway is linteled, with jambs with linear moldings on the capital and base. Above the portal there is a small semicircular niche, which contains a modern image of Saint Eugenia, and is topped by the relief of a cross. On the upper part of the façade there is a circular rose window with helicoidal molding and a sundial. In front of the façade there is an esplanade, occupied by the town's fossar (cemetery), or es Sagrat, from 1645 until the beginning of the 19th century. The entrance to the temple is made from a wooden door with the date 1870. The interior has a single nave, with a Latin cross plan, with a little marked transept, and four side chapels, in addition to the arms of the transept. The roof of the nave has a barrel vault divided into four bays. The elevation presents an alternation between the openings of the chapels, high and with a semicircular arch, and the plain pilasters that separate the chapels. The center of the transept is occupied by a dome with a circular base on pendentives. In the high part of the arms of the transept there is a skylight in the form of a porthole on each side. The main altarpiece is baroque, with rococo elements, dated 1757 and designed by Fra Albert Borguny. It stands on a modern wooden base or plinth, and forms a vertical wooden structure with rocaille decoration. A central niche stands out, with the cover decorated with reliefs of seraphs, with the image of Saint Eugenia. Around it, the altarpiece distributes nine canvases with the representation of saints.