Saint-Germain Abbey, Auxerre (Abbaye Saint-Germain d’Auxerre)

What you will see

The Carolingian crypt, seen only on a guided tour, is the highlight. Around the saint's tomb, painted false architecture frames scenes from the lives of saints, including the stoning of Saint Stephen, painted in the mid-9th century. Above ground, you can walk freely through the Gothic abbey church, the 12th-century chapter house, the 14th-century cellar and the classical cloister. The museum and temporary exhibitions occupy the old monastic buildings.

History

Germain was bishop of Auxerre from 418 until his death in 448. In the 6th century Queen Clotilde, wife of Clovis, rebuilt the church over his tomb in his honour. The abbey reached its height in the 9th century, under the protection of Charles the Bald. Around 815 it counted up to 600 monks and perhaps 5,000 students, and its school, with masters such as Heiric and Remigius, was a leading centre of the Carolingian Renaissance.

The crypts were consecrated in 859 and the new church in 865. A great Romanesque nave followed in the 12th century, together with the tower of Saint-Jean, which still stands. After the Revolution the monks were driven out, and the abbey became a military college and then a hospital. Part of the nave and the north tower were demolished in the early 19th century. The town bought the abbey in 1968 to house its museum.