Collégiale Saint-Aignan et crypte des Grottes

Saint-Aignan

Above the Cher, the collegiate church of Saint-Aignan stacks two churches one upon the other. The upper church, Romanesque of the 11th and 12th centuries, lines up nearly 250 carved capitals. But the treasure lies beneath: the lower church dedicated to Saint John, known as the "église des Grottes", whose origins according to local tradition go back to the 6th century, and which is covered with miraculously preserved wall paintings of the 12th to 14th centuries. In the central apse sits a Christ in Majesty flanked by Saint Peter and Saint James: on either side, Saint James is seen healing a paralytic and Saint Peter coming to the aid of a legless cripple — images of healing before which sick pilgrims came to beg for deliverance, on this road that also led towards Compostela. One chapel unfolds the legend of Saint Giles, the hermit fed by a hind, so popular in the Middle Ages. The place bears the name of Saint Aignan, the bishop of Orléans who in 451 is said to have turned Attila away from his city by his prayer. The sanctuary's history has been anything but a quiet one: a Temple of Reason under the Revolution, sold in 1795 and then bought back for 950 livres by a former parish priest, it saw its crypt serve as a stable and cellar until 1851. Outside, beneath an arcade, lies the recumbent effigy of Jeanne de Perellos, banished from the sanctuary for having, around 1420, lured Louis II de Chalon away from his lawful wife.

Getting there : 9 place de l'Église, in the heart of the town overlooking the Cher; climb up from the quays and the bridge; car parks below; the crypt, known as the église des Grottes, is visited from the upper church.

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

Ambient sound