Abbatiale de Moutier-d'Ahun
Baroque woodwork in a church with no nave
A Benedictine monastery founded in 997, its nave long gone. What remains is the choir, and inside it, a set of carved woodwork from the late 17th century.
The history is one of long destruction. Founded in 997 by the Count of La Marche, the monastery was rebuilt in Gothic style from 1489, then looted and burned during the Wars of Religion in 1591. Twenty years of abandonment followed, during which the stones were quarried for other uses. Monks returned in 1610 and rebuilt from 1612 to 1648. In 1788, the king suppressed the order. In 1790, it was sold as national property.
What survived is the woodwork, carved in two campaigns, from 1673 to 1674 and then from 1678 to 1681, by a sculptor from Puy-de-Dôme. An altarpiece with twisted columns, twenty-six choir stalls, a rood screen, a lectern, a double-faced Christ. In oak, and all still in place.
During the Revolution, they were whitewashed. It was a parish priest, in post from 1904 to 1963, who uncovered them again.
Where the nave once stood, there is now a garden of linden trees. So what you visit is the choir of an abbey whose church has been given back to the sky.
Open from May to September. Prices vary between sources: call ahead.