Abbatiale carolingienne de Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu

Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu

Built around 815, the abbey church of Déas is one of the rare Carolingian witnesses preserved in France. On 7 June 836 the Benedictine monks of Noirmoutier, fleeing the Viking raids, brought here the body of Saint Philibert, exhumed from his tomb; a crypt, known as the confessio, was fitted out at choir level to house the sarcophagus, a single block of blue granite from the Pyrenees (Saint-Béat) of the 7th century, 2.05 m long and adorned with two Merovingian crosses. On 29 March 847 the Northmen set fire to the church and the monastery: the crypt was then walled up completely to prevent profanation, and the monks fled with the relics as far as Tournus, in Burgundy. The nave was rebuilt over four bays, with its cruciform pillars in the characteristic alternation of tufa and brick. In 1119 the parish took the name of the holy monk. Forgotten and then rediscovered during the excavations of 1865 that unearthed the sarcophagus, the building was listed as a historic monument in 1896, restored from 1898 to 1904 and returned to worship in 1936, with stained glass by Jacques Grüber. The feast of Saint Philibert, with a vigil and patronal Mass, is still celebrated there.

Getting there : 2 place de l'Abbatiale, 44310 Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu, in the town centre. Open April–September Tuesday to Sunday 10am–12.30pm / 2pm–6.30pm, October–March Wednesday and Friday to Sunday 2pm–5.30pm. Information: 02 40 78 22 34.

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

Ambient sound