Location France Criteria i, iii Phone +33 5 49 84 30 00 | Type Cultural Reference 230 UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription 1983 | |
 | ||
UNESCO region Europe and North America Address Place de la Libération, 86310 Saint-Savin, France Similar Belfries of Belgium and France, Abbey of Fontenay, Bourges Cathedral, Arles - Roman and Rom, Vézelay Abbey Profiles | ||
Abbey church of saint savin sur gartempe
The Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe is located in Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, in Poitou, France.
Contents
Description
The Romanesque church was begun in the mid-11th century and contains many beautiful 11th- and 12th-century murals which are still in a remarkable state of preservation. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.
The cruciform church carries a square tower over its crossing. The transept was built first, then the choir with its ambulatory with five radial chapels in the polygonal apse. In the next building campaign, three bays of the nave were added, the bell tower and its porch, and finally the last six bays of the nave. The bell tower is finished by a fine stone spire more than 80 meters high, added in the 14th century and restored in the 19th century.
The barrel vaulted nave is supported on magnificently-scaled columns with foliate capitals.
Below the church is the crypt of the martyr brothers St Savin and St Cyprian, decorated with frescos depicting scenes from their lives.