Basilique Saint-Eutrope de Saintes

Saintes

Saint Eutropius is held to be the first bishop of Saintonge; Gregory of Tours counts him among the evangelisers sent to Gaul in the 3rd century, but most of what is known of him comes from medieval legend. It relates that after converting Eustelle, the governor's daughter, he was stoned and then finished off with a blow of an axe that split his skull, and buried by his followers in the young woman's garden. When, centuries later, his remains were sought, it was the scar on the skull that served as proof: "this scar you have seen on my skull is the one that made me a martyr", he is said to have declared, appearing to the clergy. On 19 May 1843, a monolithic sarcophagus bearing the inscription EVTROPIVS, probably of the 6th century, was indeed found in the centre of the crypt. Around this tomb, William VIII of Aquitaine founded in 1081 a church that Urban II came to consecrate in 1096; Aimery Picaud's Pilgrim's Guide expressly sends walkers on the Via Turonensis to Compostela there. Louis XI, in the 1470s, gave a Flamboyant spire of nearly 80 m designed by Jean Lebas. Popular piety finally credited him with a healing power: by simple assonance between his name and the word "hydropique" (dropsical), Saint Eutropius was invoked against dropsy, a mechanism typical of French hagiotherapy. The upper nave was demolished in 1803, but the crypt, with its 35 m vessel and its late 11th-century capitals, has remained one of the largest in Europe.

Basilique Saint-Eutrope de Saintes — Wikipédia ↗

Getting there : Rue Saint-Eutrope, on the left bank in Saintes, about ten minutes' walk from the Arch of Germanicus; free car park on Place du 11-Novembre, right next door. Free admission to the upper church and the crypt alike (summer 9 am–7 pm, winter 8.30 am–6 pm, daily); allow 30 minutes to 1 hour. The crypt is reached by a staircase and is not wheelchair accessible.

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

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