Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Priory of Anzy-le-Duc found its origins in the Carolingian era, when the seigneur Lethbald and his wife Altasie donated a villa to Saint-Martin Abbey in Autun in 876 to found a monastery. Monks of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, including Hugues d'Anzy, came to settle there. The latter, who died in the smell of holiness around 930, became an object of veneration, leading to the construction of a larger church under Odilon de Cluny between 1001 and 1050.

In the 12th century, the priory was enlarged, but was attacked in the 14th century, notably by the troops of the Black Prince in 1368. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were marked by destruction: Protestants mutilated the sculptures in 1576, the Leaguers burned the priory in 1594, and a hurricane in 1652 destroyed the bell tower. Despite these tests, repairs were undertaken, such as those financed by Philippe Bouton after the fire of 1652.

In 1791, at the Revolution, the religious were expelled and the priory's property sold as national property. M. de Champagny became its owner in 1791, before the site passed into the hands of M. Thomas in 1835. The church, not sold, remained national property. Today, the priory has been partially classified as a Historic Monument since 1922 and 1992, reflecting its historical and architectural importance.

The Priory was an influential place for monastic reform, linked to figures such as Hugues d'Anzy and Odilon de Cluny. Its history reflects the religious and political upheavals of Burgundy, from medieval invasions to the wars of Religion and the French Revolution. The convent buildings and the prioral church, with its Romanesque portal, illustrate the different phases of its architectural evolution.

Among the notable priors were Hugues d'Anzy, venerated as saint, as well as figures such as Charles Ailliboust, bishop of Autun, and Philippe Bouton, who contributed to the restoration of the monastery. The last prior, Roch-Étienne de Vichy, founded an annuity for the Anzy servicemen in 1824, marking the end of the monastic history of the site.

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