Tournus - St. Philibert

A monastery had been here since the 6th century, dedicated to the martyr St. Valerian, whose grave is in the crypt. It got raided by the Maurs and in 875 Charles the Bald offered the abbey to a group of homeless of monks from Normoutier as their monastery had been destroyed by the Normans.

These monks carried the relics of St. Philibert with them, so for a while the abbey was shared by two communities, each dedicated to their own saint.

After Hungarian troops had damaged the buildings in 936-37, the church got rebuild in the form we know it today. The construction lasted from the late 10th century to the early 12th century. It was consecrated in 1019, when it had a flat, wooden ceiling. A stone vault replaced the wooden ceiling in 1066-1108.

I had been here many times before (and uploaded lots of photos) over the years, but I just had to stop - and take more shots.

The side aisle hosts "Notre Dame la Brune" (the brown Madonna"), carved in the early 12th century and worshipped by many pilgrims ever since.