Abbey of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre

The Abbey of Saint -Germain d' Auxerre is in the north of the city center of Auxerre. She is a founding Bishop Germanus of Auxerre, who asked for the investment land of his family outside the former city walls available and they are also endowed with lands to ensure their existence.

Architectural History

The first building of the monastery was a simple chapel, which was intended to receive the relics of Mauritius martyr and his companions from the Theban Legion and was also dedicated to him. Germanus himself was buried on October 1 448 there.

At the beginning of the 6th century was the Merovingian queen Chrodechild, the wife of King Clovis I, expand the chapel to the basilica. At the time of the Carolingian basilica grave of Germanus was extended to an abbey under royal protection. The healing of Count Konrad of the family of Burgundian Guelph, brother of Louis the Pious, from her eye disease in 840 caused this to give a new construction of the basilica in order: the start of construction was 841, 857, the crypt was largely completed, 860 were Germanus ' relics that had been twenty years earlier outsourced, transferred to the new building. 865 the new church was just the crypts inferior, then completed with the dedication of the crypts the superior with a length of now more than 100 meters.

Fires in the 11th and 12th centuries, required extensive renovations at the longhouse in the second half of the 12th century; of the case built Romanesque twin-tower façade has been preserved only the southern tower. 1277 was the Abbot Jean de Joceval ( 1241-1277 ) a Gothic building in order, was worked on until 1398 without a completion was achieved.

Today's state

The monastery was partially destroyed by the Huguenots in 1567, secularized in 1810 and partially demolished the following year. The nave was reduced to its originating from the Gothic parts, where a neo-Gothic façade was set before 1817: the preserved South Tower stands as a result of this action now with no connection to the Basilica.

On the site of the abbey is now the Musée- Abbaye Saint- Germain. Musée d'Art et d' Histoire d' Auxerre housed.

In the extensive multi-storey Kryptenanlage are seen the oldest known paintings of France - from around 850 They were not discovered until 1927. They show, inter alia, the capture of St.. Stephen significantly in ethnic - archaic forms.

Because of the sloping terrain, the Church in the East is equipped with several superimposed crypts, which are the most important complex of Carolingian architecture in France. So this church lives from the history of the various predecessors, their meaning and look down to the crypts, however, is controversial.