Ancienne abbaye Saint-André-de-Lavaudieu

English translation

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History

Priory of Benedictine obedience, founded in 1067. The Romanesque cloister and abbatial church survive. Of the former abbey, only the refectory is preserved. The abbatial buildings must have been constructed in the 17th century and internally fitted out in the 18th century (fireplaces, joinery). The former Abbess's lodging preserves the spirit of 18th-century decoration with drawing rooms and bedrooms with marquetry flooring, French ceilings and furnishings. The refectory is decorated with a fresco from the late 12th century, in Byzantinising style with Syrian influence. Romanesque frescoes, covered between the 16th and 19th centuries, also ornament the triumphal arch (Crucifixion; Dormition of the Virgin; Saint-Andrew; small figures), the nave on the north side (Evangelist; Passion; Flagellation; Carrying of the Cross; Crucifixion; Entombment; Descent from the Cross) and the south side (Annunciation; Saint-Christopher; Saint-John?; two unidentified figures; allegory of death; a figure kneeling before a saint; Saint-Magdalene carried to heaven; an Evangelist), as well as the reverse of the church façade (Angel of the Annunciation; Virgin of the Annunciation). The entire north wall appears Gothic and bears the date 1315 on a cartouche. Italian influence in the allegory of death. Beside the Entombment, representation of the legend of Saint-Ursula and the eleven thousand virgins massacred by the Huns, repainted in the 16th century over a 1315 scene damaged by moisture. The property of the abbey (formerly state property, ministry of culture) was transferred to the commune by convention signed on 28 June 2007.