Église Saint-Eusèbe d’Auxerre

What you will see

Look first at the 12th-century Romanesque bell tower, close in style to that of the abbey of Saint-Germain. The doorway of 1633 carries panels of Saint Eusebius and Saint Lawrence, who also stand as statues at the entrance to the axial chapel. Inside, the nave mixes Romanesque and Gothic forms, then opens onto the lofty Renaissance choir. Several windows of the 1530s survive there, among them one telling the story of Joseph, alongside 17th-century paintings and 18th-century choir panelling. The church also keeps a 9th-century Byzantine silk known as the shroud of Saint Germain.

History

Around 640, Saint Pallade, bishop of Auxerre, founded a monastery outside the town walls to receive the tombs of the bishops, and dedicated it to Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, known for fighting the Arian heresy. Around 1100 Bishop Humbaud placed it in the hands of regular canons from Saint-Laurent near Cosne, and it became a priory and soon the parish church of a growing district. The church was partly burnt in 1216 and only dedicated in 1384.

In 1523 the old choir collapsed, and from 1530 it was rebuilt, higher than the nave, in the Renaissance style, with new stained glass. The west doorway dates from 1633. During the Revolution the priory disappeared and the church served as a prison until 1798, then for three years as the centre of the republican cult in Auxerre, before it became a parish church again in 1801. It has been a listed historic monument since 1862.