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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The abbey of Saint-Géraud d She formed figures like Gerbert d'Aurillac and played a key role in disseminating Clunisian uses. Its territory, free from episcopal jurisdiction, extended over a dozen dioceses, with more than a hundred priories in Auvergne, Catalonia and Spain.

The abbey church had six phases of construction: founded in 885 by Géraud, rebuilt in the 10th century, then in the 11th (consecrated in 1095 by Urban II), destroyed by Calvinists in 1569, and rebuilt in the 17th and 19th centuries. The current bell tower, 77 meters high, dates from 1898. The abbey was also a rescue, freeing its serfs and creating a free municipality from the 10th century.

Piled in 1184 by Routiers, then ravaged in 1569 by Protestants (destruction of archives, works of art and buildings), the monastery declined with the beginning in the sixteenth century. Today, there are still Romanesque remains (transeven, bedside), the old hospital and defense towers. Ranked a Historical Monument in 1920 and 1942, the Abbey illustrates the spiritual and political heritage of the medieval Auvergne.

As a cultural home in the 10th century, his scriptorium and library attracted scholars such as Jean de Salisbury. His priories, who became parishes, marked the pilgrimage routes to Compostela and Rome. The abbey's weapons, inspired by a miracle linked to Saint Géraud, even influenced the coat of arms of the Auvergne.

Today's architecture combines Romanesque foundations (XIIth–XIIIth centuries), Gothic reshuffles (XVth–XVIth), and a 19th century neo-Gothic nave, the work of architects Lassus and Lisch. The site, a mixed property (municipal and private), enjoys successive protections, including an inscription in 2018 for its buried remains and cloister.

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