Église Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand

Saint- Hilaire -de- Poitiers was founded before 511 monastery in the French Poitiers. Its central part is now the Basilica of St. Hilaire- le- Grand de Poitiers. This is excellent since 1998 as part of the World Heritage Site by UNESCO " Camino de Santiago in France."

At the same place - then outside the city - was in the 4th century Gallo-Roman necropolis. Hilary of Poitiers was here 370 built an oratory, which he 362/363 dedicated two Roman martyrs of the years, John and Paul, and in which he was, according to tradition 367/368 also buried.

In the year 450 fled the monks who lived on Hilary 's grave, before the invasion of the Visigoths, and they founded their escape the Abbey of Saint -Maixent.

Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers, reported by 570, a light in the Basilica was the Frankish king Clovis I in the year 507 by getting them immediately after a prayer in the church, in the battle of Vouillé against the Visigoths and their king Alaric II to draw, as a result of the south-west of Gaul came under his rule. To 575 reported by Gregory of Tours in his Ecclesiastical History of the Franks, in this context of a fireball.

A few years later the monastery is rebuilt through donations of Clovis. Mosaics of this building were discovered in 1856 during excavations in the nave.

A document from the year 732, in which Pepin the Monastery confirmed its privileges, the oldest surviving document of the Abbey is.

From 935 the Count of Poitou and Dukes of Aquitaine Laienäbte of Saint- Hilaire were, a privilege that had been transferred in 1204 to the French crown.

According to the Chronicle of Saint- Maixent Emma was from Normandy, † 1052 daughter of Duke Richard I and widow of King Knut the Great, built a portion of the convent church, under the direction of Agnes of Burgundy, † 1068, the third wife of Duke Wilhelm V of Aquitaine († 1030) was completed: the present - Romanesque - Basilica of St. Hilaire- le -Grand. One of their consultants will have been Fulbert of Chartres, who was from 1022 to his death in 1028/29 thesaurarius (Treasurer, Treasurer ) of the monastery. The new building was on November 1, 1049 (the date is disputed) consecrated.