Subterranean Church

The Church of St.Jean, hewn from solid rock in the 12th century, is the largest subterranean church in Europe, and a visit is an awesome experience, both in appreciating the sheer scale of the structure, and in appreciating the Christian fervour which drove the workers, with their limited tools, to create it.
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Its original purpose was to conserve religious artefacts in a series of pits, and in a reliquary (“a container of Holy relics”), inspired by the Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which was discovered during the First Crusade at the end of the 11th century.

In carving this structure directly from the limestone cliffs on which Aubeterre is built, the people may also have been influenced by tales from the later Crusades, of the rock hewn temples and underground cities of the Cappodician region of modern day Turkey.

The church itself, and its crypt, were hidden for centuries, by a rock fall, and not discovered for some time after the excavation of the main necropolis which had itself been blocked up by a retaining wall built to protect the rue de St.Jean. The sheer scale of this edifice with its nave 20 metres in height, its surrounding gallery, and the hundreds of stone tombs (“sarcophagi”) in the necropolis, bear witness to its importance as a sacred, religious destination.

 

Pilgrims en route to St.Jacques de Compostelle would take time to pray in front of the religious relics which, they believed, possessed protective powers to safeguard them on their journey. But even before these Christian pilgrims, the cults of earth and water nourished the faith of humans at such sacred places, and  this aura of magic and mystery remains palpable today for all those who enter this natural wonder.

OPEN EVERY DAY (except Xmas and New year’s Day)

 

9.30 – 12.30  and  2pm – 6pm
( 7pm 1st June – 30th September)

It is advised to arrive at least 30 minutes before closing times.

Tickets can be purchased at the entrance; guided tours and audio guides are available.

Entree fees

  • Adult : 5 €
  • Students : (13 +) and persons of limited mobility 3 €
  • Children : 8- 12  2 €
  • Children under 7 : free
  • Groups of 20+ : 4 €
  • National Culture Days : 2 €

Guides: 1 €
 

LOCATED on the rue de St.Jean leading down from the south east corner of Place Trarieux.
 

- Click here for a Virtual Visit  360° -


Contact

Eglise Souterraine Saint-Jean
Rue Saint Jean
16390 Aubeterre sur Dronne
Tel: 05.45.98.65.06
eglisemonolithe.aubeterre-sur-dronne@orange.fr