Souvigny () is a commune in the

Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...

department in

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

in central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Today the main town of a canton of the Allier department, Souvigny has long been one of the major towns in the

Bourbonnais The Bourbonnais (; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Borbonés'') was a Provinces of France, historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département in France, département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''dépar ...

(of which it was once the capital), and the royal

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

was based there. Ties with the nearby

Cluny Abbey Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with t ...

add to its rich history.Town hall website

Population

Tourism

Souvigny was nominated “great regional site of Auvergne” in 1993 on the basis of its architectural riches, and subsequently, in 2003, it was made "great Romanesque sanctuary of Auvergne".

Sights

The museums, gardens, annual exhibitions, and excursions to the priory attract a great many tourists every year. The conserved wooded areas add to interest for tourists.

Souvigny Priory Souvigny Priory (), in the commune of Souvigny, Allier, France, in the centre of the old province of the Bourbonnais, was formerly a Cluniac priory, of which the church remains in operation. History In the 10th century Aymar sire de Bourbon gav ...

houses the remains of two

abbots of Cluny The Abbot of Cluny was the head of the powerful monastery of the Abbey of Cluny in medieval France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories ...

who died at Souvigny: Mayeul, the fourth abbot (who died in 994) and his successor

Odilon Odilon is a given name of French people, French origin. The name refers to: *Odilo of Cluny, sometimes referred to as St. Odilon *Odilon Barrot (1791–1873), French politician *Odilon Lannelongue (1840–1911), French physician and surgeon *Odi ...

(who died in 1049). Their sepulchres, which had fallen into oblivion after the ravishings of the French Revolution, were rediscovered by archaeologists in 2001 and 2002. The town has two primary schools and a public nursery school. Public events include: * a botanical fair (in April) * an antiques fair (in May) * a medieval fair (beginning on the last Saturday of July) * autumn music days (last weekend of September) * regional sale of antiquarian books (in November).

Architecture

The Benedictine Priory and priory church of St Peter and St Paul is outstanding in the Bourbonnais region. Beside a few abbots, the Dukes of Bourbon were buried here. In 2010, the burial chapel was restored to mark the 600th anniversary of the death of Duke Louis II of Bourbon who is buried there. The region shows a convergence of styles. While Romanesque buildings in the proper sense are not found here, influences from

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

and Bourguignon are combined. The restoration around 1435 exemplifies a more straightforward

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

style.'' arousseEncyclopédie française: La grande encyclopédie'', Paris 1971-76:1902-03

External links

*''11 centenaire de la Maison de Bourbon'', historic Clicquot organ by

Jean-Luc Perrot Jean-Luc Perrot (born 23 May 1959 in Moulins, Allier, Moulins, Allier, in Central France) is a French organist, carillonneur, composer and musicology, musicologist. Biography Jean-Luc Perrot is Agrégation in France, agrégé of musicology, Doc ...

YouTube

References