Charroux Abbey

Charroux was a Benedictine abbey, founded in 785 by Roger, Count of Limoges. The abbey was said to have possessed the Holy Prepuce, the foreskin of Jesus, which was allegedly given to the monks by Charlemagne, King of the Franks from 768 to 814. The relic was displayed to members of a council at Charroux in 1082. At some point, however, the relic went missing.

The original abbey church was destroyed in 989. In the early eleventh century, the Count of Poitou asked the monks of Saint-Sernin in Poitou to rebuild the church and institute reforms for the monks. The abbey church was rebuilt in the 11th century. The new church was dedicated in 1096 by Pope Urban II.

The abbey was burned in 1422, during the Hundred Years War, and was plundered three times during the Wars of Religion, in 1562, 1569 and 1587.

In 1762 the abbey was abandoned. Following the French Revolution, the buildings, already in ruins, were sold for the national good in 1790. It was sold in five sections, and the buildings partly demolished to form a racecourse. However, the owner of the Charlemagne Tower resisted pressure to demolish the structure. Charles de Cherge and Prosper Mérimée intervened to save the remains of the monument, and the sculptures on the gate were purchased by the French state. Today, the remains are in the care of the Centre des monuments nationaux, and are open to the public.

Architecture

The only remaining structure of the church is the 11th-century lantern tower, known as the Charlemagne Tower. It formed the central rotunda of the abbey. Overall, the church was 126 metres long, although the site of the nave was built over in the 19th century.

Some of the monastic buildings survive, to the south of the abbey church. The chapter house was an extension of the south transept, and was built in the 13th century. In the 15th century by the abbot Jean Chaperon, including a flamboyant Gothic doorway which connected with the church. Three Gothic gateways were built in front of the Romanesque church facade in the 13th century. 27 sculptures of kings and abbots, and several parts of the gates, were preserved following the demolition of the church, and they represent the height of Gothic sculpture in the Poitou region. The sculptures are displayed in the chapter house.

Address
Place Saint-Pierre 4, Charroux, France

Established
11th century