Following in the footsteps of monks and lords

2 points of interest

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  Heritage site

  Ahun Church and its crypt

  A 13th-century church built above a crypt dating from the 9th and 10th centuries, is testimony to the existence of an ancient pagan temple housing the reliquary tomb of Saint Sylvain, patron saint of Ahun. The choir of the church is embellished with 17th-century carving; the Romanesque chevet also houses a baroque altarpiece. The crypt, a remnant of the original church, is pre-Romanesque. From the imposing Romanesque building of the 12th century, the remarkable five-sided apse and the southern chapel are still standing.

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  Heritage site

  Ahun Moutier Abbey

  This Romanesque abbey was founded in 997, and, partly ruined by the Hundred Years' War, was rebuilt in 1591. Several Gallo-Roman remains can be found in the abbey's garden. From the monastery, which has been renovated many times, only the Gothic porch and the Romanesque choir remain. At the beginning of the 17th century, a group of monks moved back in and asked for it to be attached to the Order of Cluny. The altarpiece, the stalls and the baroque grid that it houses are the work of the Auvergne sculptor, Simon Bauer. With their skillful hands, the artist and his team have carved animals, angels and fantastic characters in wood, a true hymn to nature. The construction of the woodwork, made of oak and chestnut, began in 1673 and was completed in 1681. The whole is completed by a "treasure" of which a Christ on a cross carved in boxwood is the centrepiece.

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