Église et fontaine Saint-Patrocle

Colombier

In the village of Colombier, the church of Saint-Patrocle raises above the crossing a rectangular tower from the mid-12th century; behind the west façade of the early 13th century opens a nave with side aisles, and the chancel with a flat east end, rebuilt in the 15th century, is vaulted with prismatic ribbed vaults. The north arm of the transept, raised in height at the end of the Middle Ages, retains the remains of a bretèche. The oldest parts, the bases of the nave walls and the round piers, are dated to the late 10th century by Wikipedia, while the Mérimée record places the bulk of the building in the 11th and 12th centuries. According to Gregory of Tours, Patrocle, who had built an oratory at Néris around 540, founded a monastery here where he was buried in 576; his tomb attracted pilgrims. In 925, King Raoul confirmed the monastery to the abbey of Saint-Martin d'Autun, and the priory of Souvigny then took control of it in the second half of the 11th century. The church has been listed as a historic monument since 1928. Some three hundred metres away, in rue de la Font, the Saint-Patrocle fountain lines up three granite basins, round, square and rectangular. Tradition has it that the saint, short of water for his building work, threw his hammer and declared that a spring would gush forth where it fell. The water was held to cure fevers, skin diseases and sick livestock, and the commune reports an annual procession to the fountain each July. The link with Sucellus, the Gaulish god with the mallet, suggested by a tourist leaflet, remains a hypothesis.

Wikipédia — Église Saint-Patrocle de Colombier ↗

Getting there : The church is in the village, place de l'Église; the Allier tourist office states that it may be visited freely with a document provided on site, the days and times being available from the town hall (to be checked). The fountain is in rue de la Font, about 300 m from the church, on the fountains trail marked out by the commune (to be checked).

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

Ambient sound