Sorèze - Saint-Martin

The "Tour St. Martin" was part of the parish church Saint-Martin, that got destroyed during the during the Wars of Religion in 1573. After having smashed the naves - it may have seemed too laborious for the Huguenot troops, to tear down the massive tower as well.

To the right a corner of the former abbey is to be seen. Following a leaflet, the abbey was founded in 754 by Pepin I of Aquitaine, what is hard to believe, as Louis the Pious´ son, was born about 4 decades later.
The buildings of today were built after the monastery was burned down 1573, when St. Martin got destroyed as well. Now the spacious complex is named "l'abbaye-école de Sorèze", as Louis XVI founded a military school here in 1776, that existed upto 1991. The buildings now host a museum, a cutural center, the tourist office - and a very interesting hotel, in which I did not stay overnight. Next time..



Here are the websites:

www.abbayeecoledesoreze.com/
hotels-francepatrimoine.fr/hotel/abbaye-ecole-de-soreze