ABBATIALE DE SAINT-SEINE-L’ABBAYE
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A remarkable abbey church, classified as a historical monument, the oldest testimony of Burgundian Gothic.
This abbey is a precious witness to the history and style of Burgundian Gothic architecture. Founded in the 6th century by a monk from Moutiers-Saint-Jean, the abbey was home to such important figures as Benoît d'Aniane, the reformer of the Benedictine order, who took his vows here in the 8th century. In the Middle Ages, Saint-Seine Abbey prospered and grew, becoming one of the most important abbeys in Burgundy alongside Cluny and Cîteaux. The choir of the former abbey church, a masterpiece of Gothic art, still survives from this prosperous period, bathed in light thanks to the large expanse of glass. As the rest of the building burned down in 1255, most of the church dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. The porch is still decorated with vine branches. Look closely: a snail is hiding in one of them!
Like many medieval abbeys, Saint-Seine had a mill and waterworks that were destroyed during the French Revolution. The sculpted choir stalls date from the 18th century and are the work of Luxembourg craftsman Guillaume Theiss. The exceptional 16th-century murals depict the legend of Saint Seine in 22 paintings (1504) to the north, and the Tree of Jesse, Saint Christopher and litanies of the Virgin Mary to the south, in a style influenced by the Renaissance. The church has been listed as a historic monument since 1862 for the beauty of its architecture and decoration.
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