Attractions and Places To See around Vannes-Sur-Cosson - Top 16

Beautiful trail on the Levée, which offers a superb view of the Loire.

Nestled in a meander of the Loire, the town of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire is home to one of the most beautiful jewels of Romanesque architecture: an 11th and 12th century basilica including the porch tower, decorated with twelve historic capitals. , the monumental portal and the nave constitute the most remarkable elements. Founded around 650 on the grounds of an ancient Gallo-Roman villa, Fleury Abbey has housed the relics of Saint Benedict, founder of Western monasticism and patron saint of Europe, since 672. During the 8th century, the patronage of the Prince of the Apostles was abandoned for that of Saint Benedict. This event is at the origin of the rapid expansion, prosperity and influence of the abbey which became Saint-Benoît de Fleury, while the village later became that of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire. In the 9th century, after the ordeal of the Norman invasions which pillaged and destroyed the monastery, Fleury Abbey flourished again. The 10th and 11th centuries were the great era of Fleury's spiritual, intellectual and artistic influence. The construction of Fleury was probably completed in 1218. A few centuries later, the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion ruined the monastery and disrupted regular life, the community's numbers collapsed. The French Revolution will end up dispersing the community of Fleury Abbey. But in 1944, a community of around forty monks resettled in the area and undertook the reconstruction of the monastery. A community of thirty-three monks lives there today under the direction of Father Abbot Etienne Ricaud. In 1947, the fourteenth centenary of the death of Saint Benedict led the abbey to be elevated to the status of a basilica. The visitor is invited to admire the fabulous historic capitals present in the porch tower, the nave and the choir; the magnificent paving which extends around the altar as well as the crypt where the relics of the patron saint rest. Not to be missed is the north portal and its monumental lintel carved in high relief.

We already find traces of a monastery in Fleury in the year 620. In 660, relics of Saint-Benoît were brought there and the abbey became Saint-Benoît de Fleury. Around the year 1000, the abbey experienced a golden age and the construction of the current basilica was launched. It will be consecrated in 1218. From the 16th to the 18th century, wars and the Revolution damaged the monastery. However, a community of 24 monks still lives there today.

At this location, during sanitation work in 1968, a certain number of ancient and medieval remains were unearthed, witnesses to the occupation of this site since Antiquity. Vienne-en-Val is also located on the Roman road from Orléans to Sancerre. The presence of two churches, one Merovingian and one dating from the 10th century, was revealed by surveys. The remains found, in particular sculpted blocks reused in these later constructions, attest that a sanctuary from the Early Roman Empire existed in the area but its location has not yet been discovered. You can discover these ancient blocks nearby, in a community hall which serves as a lapidary museum.

A granite monument displaying a cross of Lorraine faces the entrance to the Château du Cerf-Bois here and recalls one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the Sologne resistance. It was erected in memory of 12 Parisian students shot by the Nazis on June 10, 1944 in the clearing that you can reach by following the path in front of you. Another monument was erected in this clearing, accompanying the steles in memory of each of the young men. These young Parisian students were part of a large wave of departures for the maquis following the call of June 6, 1944 by Marshal de Gaulle. On June 9, they reached their first stop towards the Corrèze maquis: the Château de Cerf-Bois, where Madame de Labeau welcomed them. Another group of students was welcomed the same evening at the By farm, about fifteen kilometers away. However, this information having been obtained by the Gestapo, they were apprehended on June 10 at 5 a.m., searched, questioned then shot, apart from a traitor hidden among them and affiliated with the Paris Gestapo. He indicated to the Germans that the sketch found on one of the students corresponded to three resistance gathering places, including the Château de Cerf-Bois. A raid was immediately organized at the castle and the 12 young men who were there were executed. As for the third place indicated on the sketch, the Château des Grand-Bois, 14 students and the owner of the premises were also found and deported to Dachau, where eight died.

Fleury Abbey, whose foundation dates back to the seventh century, still hosts 25 monks today. Its basilica (Saint-Benoît) can be visited outside the services. The monastery also welcomes pilgrims in search of silence, seeking to return to the presence of God.

The monastery is located in the village of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire near Sully-sur-Loire on the Loire in France. It was particularly famous in the Middle Ages for its monastic school founded by Saint Odo. Odo was abbot of Fleury Monastery from 930 to 942 and made it one of the most important centers of the Cluniac movement. In 1798 the monastery school was closed again (Wikipedia).

The Abbey of Saint-Benoît was built in the 11th century and still houses a community of monks. The Saint-Benoît basilica can be visited outside of services.