World Heritage Site: Church of the Abbey of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartemps – 2011 France

2011 France
2011 France

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Date of visit: April 24, 2011

The weather changed rapidly on April 24, but we were able to do a lot of sightseeing because the sights were concentrated and easy to get to.

I’ve been to a total of five beautiful villages.

  1. Mortemart(モルトマール)
  2. Saint-Benoît-du-Sault(サン・ベノワ・ドゥ・ソー)
  3. Gargilesse-Dampierre(ガルジレス・ダンピエール)
  4. Angles-sur-l’Anglin(アングル・シュル・ラングラン)
  5. Crissay-sur-Manse(クリセ・シュル・マンス))

I also visited the church of the Abbey of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartemps, which is also registered as a World Heritage Site.

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It is located about 15 minutes south of the town we headed to after the third beautiful village, Gargilesse-Dampierre, and the next one we will visit, Angles-sur-l’Anglin.

The big town nearby is “Poitiers”.

The ancient Romanesque church has been listed as a World Heritage Site, according to WIkipedia, the exact date of its foundation is not known, but legend has it that it dates back to the 5th century.

It’s a very old town, don’t you think? I’ve been to many French cities, but just a two-hour drive away, you can see a different culture. It’s an amazing diversity in one country.

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Saint-Savin sur Gartempe” means “Saint-Savin along the Gartempe River”.

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Well, this place is “known for its 36 well-preserved Romanesque wall paintings”. Well, I didn’t have such knowledge when I went there… But if you look at the photo carefully, you can see such a picture written on the ceiling.

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When I was actually sightseeing, I honestly didn’t think the inside was that great. After all, the sightseeing becomes more fun if there is a certain amount of knowledge, isn’t it? It’s no good.

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それでも非常に目を見張る立派な教会に歴史を感じさせる街並みを散策できたことはとても幸せでした。フランスの中部地方で行きにくいエリアではありますが、また機会があればいってみたいなあと思います。

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