Photo : Daniel Villafruela / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Religious heritage · Allier
Prieuré de Souvigny
From the 10th century the Priory of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul at Souvigny, in the Allier, was one of the five 'eldest daughters' of the powerful Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy. This close link with Cluny and the protection of the first lords of Bourbon made it a major spiritual centre of the medieval Bourbonnais.
The priory church, now the parish church, holds the tombs of the first two dukes of Bourbon and a remarkable 12th-century carved lunar and zodiac calendar. A recognised stage on the routes to Santiago de Compostela, listed as such as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Souvigny has kept a medieval town centre ideal for strolling.
