Saint-Avit-Sénieur

Saint- Avit- Sénieur is a commune in the Dordogne department in the region of Aquitaine. The town developed in the protection of the fortified abbey, clearly, when established, and counts 456 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011).

Geography

Saint- Avit- Sénieur located in the hills south of the Dordogne about 35 km east of Bergerac, about 50 kilometers west of Sarlat- la -Caneda, in the Perigord. About 50 kilometers west of the village leads the Via Lemovicensis in Sainte- Foy- la -Grande over the Dordogne. She was one of the four main routes of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

Attractions

The massive Romanesque church in the center is the remnant of a former Benedictine abbey. Since 1998, the church is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO " Camino de Santiago in France."

The monastery was built at a location at the time of the Merovingians ( 430-750 ) lived a hermit named Avitus senior at. He was a soldier in the service of the Visigoth king Alaric II, before retiring as a hermit.

St. -Avit -Sénieur, Abbey Church, view from south

St. -Avit -Sénieur, old rectory

St. -Avit -Sénieur, houses in the village

South of the former priory was discovered during archaeological excavations the remains of an Augustinian monastery. Were bared up while the foundations of the Roman church and the monastery building. The buildings were completely destroyed in the wars of religion.