Prieuré de Pommiers-en-Forez

Pommiers-en-Forez

Around 878–891, Benedictine monks from the abbey of Nantua founded at Pommiers a priory that passed under the authority of Cluny in 960. In the 11th–12th centuries rose the priory church of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul, in the Romanesque style of the Forez. In the 13th century the priory reached its height: twelve monks supervised eight dependent churches. Ravaged during the Hundred Years' War, it then equipped itself with a fortified enclosure with three towers, giving it the look of a bastide, while the community shrank to five religious. King Charles VII stopped there on All Saints' Day 1452, after signing the peace of Cleppé with the Dauphin, and confirmed by edict the privileges of the University of Caen. Francis I stayed there twice, in 1531 and 1537, on hunting parties and to take possession of the county of Forez. Passing under commendatory rule at the start of the 16th century, the priory acquired a Renaissance lodging. A tradition that emerged in the 16th century links the site to Saint Prève, legendary daughter of Count Gérard II of Forez: having refused a marriage, she is said to have founded a monastery at Pommiers before being slandered and beheaded by her own brothers, giving rise ever since, according to legend, to many miracles. Sold as national property in 1792, the priory, listed as a historic monument in 1983, served as a religious retirement home from 1946 to 1988.

Getting there : Open to visitors according to season (Loire département site); parking on site, Le Bourg, 42260 Pommiers-en-Forez; about 30 min from Roanne.

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

Ambient sound