Prieuré Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Souvigny

Souvigny

The quiet grandeur of a princely and monastic necropolis, in the shadow of the past power of Cluny.

Founded in 916 when Aimar, the first known ancestor of the Bourbons, gave the church of Souvigny to Berno, abbot of Cluny, the priory became "the eldest daughter of Cluny" and one of the major sanctuaries of the Cluniac order in France. The largest religious building in the Allier, it houses the tombs of two abbots of Cluny, Saint Mayeul (died 994) and Saint Odilo (died 1049), as well as the necropolis of the first dukes of Bourbon in the 15th and 16th centuries. One may admire an organ of 1783 by François-Henri Clicquot, organ builder to King Louis XVI, and the mysterious "Zodiac Stone", a 12th-century calendar bas-relief kept in the municipal museum. The site has been recognised as a "sanctuary of peace" since 2017.

Getting there : The church of Saint-Marc has been listed as a monument historique (historic monument) since 1840; the priory complex, designated a "sanctuary of peace" since 2017, is open to visitors, as is the adjoining municipal museum.

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

Ambient sound