Saint-Père at the foot of Vézelay's hill with around 350 habitants
is situated along the Cure River and possesses a stunning gothic church, a Gallo-Roman
site and a regional archeological museum.
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| Saint-Père and it's inhabitants |
Notre-Dame church
Started around 1200 and completed in 1455,this church has seen the evolutionary
stages of the gothic style. It became the parish hall during the 16th century
replacing the Saint-Pierre (origin of the name Saint-Père) burned down in 1567
during the religions wars and was never reconstructed.
Genuine stone "lacework", it has been the principal project of significant restoration
thanks to the interest of the inhabitants of Saint-Père and of the support
town's mayor, Christian Guillot.
The bell tower dates from the 13th century.The porch, added at the end of the 13th century,
was restored by Viollet-Le-Duc.
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l'église Notre-Dame |
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The nave shelters the sulptured tomb of a woman dating 1258. |
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Fifty meters high,this 13th century bell tower holds to view on it's corners trumpeting angels. |
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Two kilometers from the village, archeological diggings reveal
the Gallo-Roman settlement salt-laden mineral springs with curative powers including a Gallic sanctuary, a second century
BC circular temple, a sacred bath and a pool in a vaste enclosure consecrated to the divine salt springs .
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| salt springs site |
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These salt springs have been successively exploited since the end
of the neolithic period until the middle ages, then overwhelmed by the administration
of the imposed taxes during the 17th century.
Nineteen wooden tanks cut from the same enormous oak trunks are still visible today,
conserved by the strong mineralized water.
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The archeological museum situated at Saint-Père,
installed in the early 17th century presbytery, shelters the original antiquities
from excavations at the "Fontaines Salées" (salt-springs) and varied medieval
relics from it's surroundings (nécropole of Vaudonjon, Gratteloup site
at the Pierre-Perthuis) and sculptures from the 15th to 16th century
originating from the Vézelay region . |
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| museum entry |
site of Saint-Père
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The Crécholien entry to the village
from Vézelay and Asquins |
The Cure river, tower,
Vézelay in the distance |
Ruines from the ancient church |
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| around the village of Saint-Père |
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