Abbaye de Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe

Saint-Savin

The founding tradition tells that two Christian brothers, Savin and Cyprian, fleeing persecution in Macedonia in the 5th century, were caught and beheaded on the banks of the Gartempe, Savin being buried near the present-day hamlet of Cerisier. The tomb drew the faithful, then a monastery: in 821, Benedict of Aniane established the Benedictine rule there with some twenty monks. The present abbey church was raised and decorated between 1040 and 1090 under the abbots Odon and Gervais; its porch bell tower rises to 77 m and its nave, 42 m long, is barrel-vaulted at about 18 m. It is this vault that makes the place famous: an exceptionally complete and well-preserved cycle of Romanesque wall paintings unfolding Genesis and Exodus, which has earned the church the nickname of "the Sistine Chapel of French Romanesque art". The crypt preserves further paintings linked to the cult of the two martyrs. Listed as early as 1840, the abbey church has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1983, precisely for this painted ensemble. The sanctuary today remains a place of remembrance of the local saints rather than a mass pilgrimage.

Église abbatiale de Saint-Savin sur Gartempe — UNESCO ↗

Getting there : On the banks of the Gartempe, in the centre of the village of Saint-Savin, some fifty kilometres east of Poitiers. Abbey church and monastic buildings open to visitors (admission charge for the abbey). The village is the heart of the "valley of the frescoes", with Antigny and Jouhet a few kilometres away.

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

Ambient sound