Collégiale Saint-Martin de Chablis

Chablis

When the Norsemen came up the Loire, from 853, the canons of Saint-Martin of Tours took to carrying the body of their saint out of reach of the fleets. Charles the Bald came to their aid: in 867 he made over to them the small monastery of Saint-Loup at Chablis and the lands around it, on the bank of the Serein, far from navigable rivers; and in July 877 two diplomas of the same king attest that the body of Martin was then kept at Chablis, in the Tonnerrois. It would go on to Auxerre, beside Saint Germain, before returning to Tours about 885-887; but Chablis remained with Saint-Martin of Tours, on which a chapter of about ten canons depended until the Revolution — the wine of Chablis was, for centuries, a wine of Touraine canons. The church one sees was rebuilt at the end of the 12th century and in the first half of the 13th: one of the first Gothic churches in Burgundy, with a flat chevet, vaults still archaic, a light-filled nave and carvings of the 13th century; the front was remade at the beginning of the 17th century after a fire. Its curiosity is a side door entirely studded with horseshoes, offered, it is said, by pilgrims and horsemen to Saint Martin, patron of horse people — the soldier of Amiens never left his mount.

Wikipédia — Église Saint-Martin de Chablis ↗

Getting there : The church is in the centre of Chablis, a few steps from the main square; open during the day (enquire at the tourist office if it is closed). Look for the side door studded with horseshoes, offerings from pilgrims to Saint Martin, patron of horsemen. Parking along the Serein.

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

Ambient sound