St-Benoît-sur-Loire: Abbaye de Fleury church
The Romanesque Benedictine abbey church of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (in the département of Loiret, in the northern part of the Centre Region of central France) in the middle Loire Valley, on a mostly overcast afternoon in late May. This view is from the west, looking at the west porch while standing in the main place of the small town, which today is also called St-Benoît-sur-Loire ("Saint Benedict on [the] Loire").
This Romanesque church was primarily constructed 1067-1218, with later elements. It is associated with the monastery of Fleury (Abbaye de Fleury or Abbaye de Saint-Benoît de Fleury), which -- founded ca. 630 -- had existed prior to the Benedictine foundation, which followed the translation of relics of St. Benedict to the abbey in 660, by the 8th century. The abbey continued until the French Revolution (being broken up in 1791), then was refounded in 1944, again by Benedictine monks.
Today it is part of the composite UNESCO World Heritage site Vallée de la Loire -- The Loire Valley -- between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes.
(Information primarily from the website of the Abbaye de Fleury, consulted 31 January 2015.)
Please note that the region's name when this picture was taken in 2009 was Centre, but in 2015, as a result of the merger of regions, the name was changed to Centre-Val de Loire.
(From the "archive" -- 2009.)
[St-Benoît-sur-Loire abbey church porch II 2009 may 27 c; IMG_2698]
St-Benoît-sur-Loire: Abbaye de Fleury church
The Romanesque Benedictine abbey church of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (in the département of Loiret, in the northern part of the Centre Region of central France) in the middle Loire Valley, on a mostly overcast afternoon in late May. This view is from the west, looking at the west porch while standing in the main place of the small town, which today is also called St-Benoît-sur-Loire ("Saint Benedict on [the] Loire").
This Romanesque church was primarily constructed 1067-1218, with later elements. It is associated with the monastery of Fleury (Abbaye de Fleury or Abbaye de Saint-Benoît de Fleury), which -- founded ca. 630 -- had existed prior to the Benedictine foundation, which followed the translation of relics of St. Benedict to the abbey in 660, by the 8th century. The abbey continued until the French Revolution (being broken up in 1791), then was refounded in 1944, again by Benedictine monks.
Today it is part of the composite UNESCO World Heritage site Vallée de la Loire -- The Loire Valley -- between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes.
(Information primarily from the website of the Abbaye de Fleury, consulted 31 January 2015.)
Please note that the region's name when this picture was taken in 2009 was Centre, but in 2015, as a result of the merger of regions, the name was changed to Centre-Val de Loire.
(From the "archive" -- 2009.)
[St-Benoît-sur-Loire abbey church porch II 2009 may 27 c; IMG_2698]