Crypte de l'abbaye Saint-Martial de Limoges

Limoges

Beneath the paving of the place de la République sleeps what remains of one of the most powerful monasteries of the medieval West. The abbey of the Saviour, founded in 848 on the orders of Charles the Bald around the tomb of Saint Martial, had every appearance of a cathedral: a hundred and two metres long, a nave twenty-one metres wide, a transept stretching sixty-six metres, a choir with ambulatory and five radiating chapels — the very plan of the great pilgrimage churches, that of Conques and of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. Pope Urban II consecrated it on 30 December 1095. A major stage on the Vézelay route, which bears its name, it also shone through its scriptorium, its sung tropes and its champlevé enamels. Dissolved in 1791, it was demolished stone by stone in the years that followed, and the square was born from its rubble. Then, in the 1960s, the redevelopment of the square and the digging of an underground car park brought the saint's tomb back to light: France's first archaeological crypt was laid out on the spot. A word on Saint Martial himself, since many brochures get him wrong: Gregory of Tours makes him one of the seven missionaries sent to Gaul around 250, hence a man of the 3rd century. It was Adémar de Chabannes who, in the early 11th century, turned him into a contemporary of Christ, present at the Last Supper — a construction that allowed him to be proclaimed an apostle between 1024 and 1032, and which is now taken for what it is.

Crypte Saint-Martial — office de tourisme ↗

Getting there : Beneath the place de la République, in the city centre, within walking distance of the Bénédictins railway station. The crypt can only be seen on a guided tour of about an hour, with prior booking and payment at the tourist office (05 55 34 46 87): the meeting point is only given after booking. €6 full price, €4 reduced, free for children under six. No animals. The descent is not advised for people with reduced mobility.

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

Ambient sound