Ermitage Sainte-Catherine de Lormont

Lormont

On the flank of a limestone cliff overlooking the Garonne, a chapel is hollowed out of the rock: this is the hermitage of Sainte-Catherine at Lormont. A hermit is mentioned there as early as 1386, and Rabelais cites the hermit of Lormont in the Quart Livre. In 1446, the Carmelites of Bordeaux received the place. Protestants set fire to the sanctuary in 1570, and the Carmelites took it back in the early 17th century. In 1665, President Arnaud de Pontac promised to rebuild it, to plans by the architect Dupuy. The place was then abandoned, then the Bordeaux-Paris railway skirted it: after a rockfall, around 1850, retaining walls were built. In the chapel, an altarpiece is carved in the rock and shows the mystical marriage of Saint Catherine. A coffered ceiling and the arms of the Carmelites complete the decoration. Around it open a cell, a long gallery, a cistern and other troglodyte shelters. The whole has been inscribed as a historic monument since 1987.

French Ministry of Culture (Mérimée) — Ermitage Sainte-Catherine, Lormont ↗

Getting there: In the parc de l'Ermitage, a public park of 30 hectares opened around 2006 on the right bank of the Garonne, at Lormont, near Bordeaux. The ruins are in poor condition: rockfalls closed the site in 1998 and 2007 and the entrance to the cavity is said to be forbidden to the public. Check with the town hall before going.

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

Ambient sound