Creation of gardens 1994 (≈ 1994)
French Gardens added during the Grand Site.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Mayeul - Abbé de Cluny
He was buried in Souvigny, a local patron saint.
Odilon - Abbé de Cluny
Dead and buried in the priory.
Sires de Bourbon - Protectors of the monastery
Founders of the Bourbonnais nucleus in the 10th century.
Origin and history
The Musée du Pays de Souvigny, located in the north barn of the Benedictine priory, presents on the ground floor a temporary exhibition and on the floor a showcase of the local heritage. Its lapidary collections come from the clunisian prioral ensemble, including the famous column of the Zodiac (12th century), a carved pillar unique in the world. Around this masterpiece, statues, Romanesque and Gothic capitals, as well as copies of the Bible of Souvigny (XII century) trace the history of the monastery, founded in the tenth century under the protection of the Sires of Bourbon.
Souvigny, one of Cluny's "five daughters", illustrates the influence of the congregation, which counted more than 1,000 settlements in the 12th century. Two abbots of Cluny, Mayeul and Odilon, were buried there, and the Dukes of Bourbon elected their burial. The Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul church preserves historic capitals, gisters and funeral chapels. The site, enriched in 1994 with French gardens, perpetuates the monastic tradition with medicinal and vegetable plants, reflecting the self-sufficiency of monks.
The museum, labeled Musée de France, is part of a prioral ensemble from the 11th to 18th centuries, a witness to Cluny's spiritual and artistic power. Its official address, 11 Place Aristide Briand in Souvigny (Allier), the place in the heart of Bourbonnais, at the crossroads of Auvergne, Berry and Burgundy. The themes covered include national archaeology (protohistory to medieval), local and religious history, and monastic architecture.
