MONOLITHIC CHURCH OF ST. JOHN
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This underground church of Aubeterre, with its dizzying dimensions, is the largest in Europe
A breathtaking monument. The underground church of Aubeterre, with its vertiginous dimensions (27 m long, 16 m wide and nearly 20 m high) is the largest in Europe. It was dug out of a single block of rock from within the rock itself. It is certain that the disciples of Saint-Maur (Benedictines), who dug it around the 12th century, actually took advantage of much older caves or excavations, which were used and enlarged by the first Christians to practice their cult in safety. The centrepiece of this space is the reliquary, which is also monolithic, i.e. made by cutting out the limestone. In the centre of the nave, a baptismal pool, carved into the rock, has a Greek cross at its back. This baptismal basin was probably dug between the 4th and 9th centuries, i.e. well before the church itself was completed. The entire floor of the nave was a succession of sarcophagi, the closest of which to the baptismal basin are still visible. The nave of Saint John was indeed used for a long time and several times as a cemetery until 1865.
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