Crypte de Saint-Parize-le-Châtel et fontaine des Vertus

Saint-Parize-le-Châtel

Beneath the choir of the church in this Nivernais village opens one of the strangest Romanesque crypts in Burgundy. The place has been holy since the 6th century, when the monk Patrice — Parize, in the local speech — came to evangelise the district and, according to tradition, founded a first monastery here; the village took his name. The crypt, built in the 12th century on the site of that early abbey to house the saint's relics, rests on six cylindrical columns whose capitals form a unique fantastical bestiary: a sciapod, a fabulous one-legged being sheltering from the sun beneath its giant foot, lions, tortoises, owls, fork-tongued serpents, sirens, centaurs, demons, musicians and an acrobat curled into a hoop, cousin of the one contorting himself at the top of the tympanum at Vézelay. For centuries pilgrims came down to venerate the shrines of Saint Parize, until the relics were dispersed around 1793; the church and its crypt were listed as historic monuments as early as 1862. Near the village flows the fontaine des Vertus, a spring reputed for its healing powers: local tradition has it that Joan of Arc washed her sword there after the capture of Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier, in November 1429. The sanctuary, unassuming and rarely visited, amply rewards the detour.

Getting there : Church of Saint-Patrice in the village centre, 20 km south of Nevers, near the Magny-Cours racing circuit. Crypt reached by a staircase from the church; the fontaine des Vertus is close to the village.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound