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Origin and history

The former abbey of Saint Martin de Tours, founded in the fifth century on the tomb of St Martin, was one of the largest Christian shrines in the West. Rebuilt several times (XI, 13th–15th centuries), it became a collegiate after 817, served by canons. His influence attracted pilgrims and kings, like Clovis I in 508 or Louis XI, whose funeral took place there in 1483. The Romanesque basilica, in decline since the 18th century, was demolished after 1797, leaving only two towers and a cloister gallery.

In the 13th century, the abbey was enriched with a Gothic cloister, later lined with Renaissance canonical houses. The remains (the Charlemagne Tower, the Clock Tower, the cloister) were classified as historical monuments in 1840. The present basilica, neo-Byzantine, was built between 1886 and 1902 on the site of the medieval bedside, still home to the crypt and tomb of St. Martin. Subsequent excavations revealed foundations buried under the modern city.

The Charlemagne Tower, partially collapsed in 1928, and the Clock Tower today symbolize this heritage. The site also preserves fragments of 13th century murals and a medieval low chapel, classified in 1965. The monumental statue of St.Martin, restored in 2016, dominates the dome of the modern basilica, perpetuating the Martinian cult.

The abbey played a key role in religious history: his Carolingian scriptorium produced illuminated manuscripts, and his title as abbot lay was carried by the kings of France of Hugues Capet to 1789. The Revolution dispersed its relics, but discoveries (such as those of Marcoles in 1667) and restorations allowed its memory to be preserved.

The Renaissance cloister, begun in 1508 by Bastien François, combines Gothic motifs and Italian ornaments, witness to the artistic transition of the sixteenth century. The modern, more modest basilica includes crypts dedicated to Saint Louis and Gregory of Tours, as well as a 19th-century organ. The site remains a place of remembrance, as in 2025 with a plaque for victims of abuse in the Church.

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