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All France Aubeterre-sur-Dronne Underground Church of Saint-Jean at Aubeterre-sur-Dronne

Underground Church of Saint-Jean at Aubeterre-sur-Dronne

The largest underground church in Europe.

Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, France

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The Church of Saint-Jean is an impressively huge subterranean church, hand-hewn out of a rock hillside in the 12th century.

In the main room, two massive columns rise up to a nearly 60-foot-high ceiling. A winding stairway, also hewn out of the rock, allows visitors to climb up through the back wall to passages at the top that provide a beautiful view of the main room through a series of windows and overlooks.

It was originally built to house religious artifacts; to the side of the main room is a Roman reliquary that was apparently discovered during the first Crusade. Off of the main room is a necropolis containing over 80 sarcophagi.

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Catacombs And Crypts Sacred Spaces Subterranean Sites

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  • kateottan

Published

June 19, 2013

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Sources
  • http://aubeterresurdronne.com/pages/en/things-to-see/subterranean-church.php
  • http://www.gadling.com/2007/04/27/detour-worth-making-the-underground-church-of-saint-jean-at-aub/
Underground Church of Saint-Jean at Aubeterre-sur-Dronne
16390 Aubeterre-sur-Dronne
Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, 16390
France
45.272429, 0.171273
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