Ermitage de Saint-Émilion

Saint-Émilion

Around 750, a monk from Brittany, Émilion, settled in a cave cut into the hillside, at the place known as les Combes. There he fashioned a bed, an altar and a seat out of the rock, and tradition holds that he made a spring gush forth in the cave for his liturgical needs. This water was very early on reputed to heal — the hagiographic account tells that a woman is said to have recovered her sight there — and it was around his tomb, after his death, dated to 6 January 767, that his disciples cut the first underground chambers to receive pilgrims. The seat carved for the monk's meditation went on to a second career: it became the 'chair of fertility', reputed to restore lost fertility to women. The custom is far from extinct: the Saint-Émilion tourist office and town hall still receive letters every year crediting a visit with a birth. From the hermitage the catacombs lead off, galleries of burial niches of every size, once lit by a natural light well above the reliquaries. Together with the neighbouring monolithic church, the complex forms one of the largest underground religious networks in Europe, and the basis for the site's listing as a World Heritage Site in 1999.

L'église monolithe et les catacombes de Saint-Émilion ↗

Getting there : Guided tour compulsory, starting from the Saint-Émilion tourist office: the underground circuit links the hermitage, the catacombs, the Chapelle de la Trinité and the monolithic church, in 45 minutes to 1 hour. The doors of the underground monuments open only with an accredited guide; booking strongly recommended in season. Coordinates given at the heart of the town, the hermitage lying below within the built-up area.

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

Ambient sound