The view above shows the abbey of St. Germain in Auxerre seen from the cathedral tower. Over the last few years a team of researchers affiliated with the Centre nationale de la recherche scientifique has been studying the abbey. The archaeological team is led by Christian Sapin; they have been working primarily in the abbey's crypt and in its forecourt, which formerly was its nave and west entrance. On June 18, 1999 the refurbished eastern crypt and the newly constructed archaeological crypt at the west were dedicated. As a part of the festivities, the Centre d'Etudes Medievales in Auxerre sponsored a colloquium entitled Avant-nefs et espaces d'accueil dans l'eglise. An exhibition entitled Auxerre et les premices de l'art roman was installed in the abbey's cellars, now part of the Auxerre museum.
In September, 2000 a new site was established for the Saint-Germain site. Click here to link to it.
In 1995, Sapin's team was concentrating on excavating the area in front of the abbey church. The nave extended over this site until it was partially demolished after the French Revolution, when the abbey buildings were transformed into a hospital. Recently the abbey's residential and service buildings have been remodeled as a museum, and Sapin's team is working toward integrating the excavated entry section of the former church into an archaeological park. The 1995 photo below looks west from the existing building toward the twelfth-century tower that was adjacent to the former porch.
The view below shows the same site as it appeared in June, 1999. A concrete cover has been installed over the excavated area. The cover has been paved with slabs indicating the location of elements that had been uncovered during the study. The new space will serve as the entry courtyard for the museum and abbey. Visitors to the abbey church can pass beneath the cover on specially prepared walkways to view the excavated sections of the nave.
The view below shows the western end of the area beneath the slab. You are looking toward the stairs that once descended into the Romanesque abbey church next to the extant western tower (left in photo). The stair profile has been indicated by a neon element. The visitors to the western archaeological crypt walk on a grate that permits views of the excavated remains. Key features of the rediscovered structure are marked by lighting elements, or are highlighted in vitrines. The presentation is a model of cooperation between archaeologists and architect.
At the entrance to the new western area there are plans and descriptive panels to guide the visitor (at the red dot in the plan). One of the plans is reproduced below. The shaded area at the west represents the area now covered by the new terrace. The extent of the former nave, and then the Romanesque fore-structure that was in front of it are shaded in different tints. On the other end, the crypt is also shaded. The crypt, which was begun in the Carolingian era (9th century) and expanded in the Romanesque period, was completely studied over a ten year period, and then a modern visitor circulation system with new lighting was installed.
A view of the crypt from the exhibition cataloge is shown below to give an idea of its presentation. The crypt is important especially for its central confessio that once held the tomb of Saint Germain, and for its paintings of scenes of St. Stephen in the northern flanking chapel.
In the view below you can see the abbey site from the west, with the twelfth-century tower at the right and the modern enclosing wall of the nave in the background. To find out more about the abbey church's early building history, consult Christian Sapin's book, La Bourgogne Preromane (Paris, 1986), pages 41-63. For an overview of the abbey's cultural impact, see the exhibition catalogue Abbaye Saint-Germain d'Auxerre: Intellectuels et Artistes dans l'Europe carolingienne, IXe - XIe siecles (Auxerre, 1990). In October 1999 two new volumes will appear concerning the total project, Archeologie et Architecture d'un site monastique, and Peindre a Auxerre au Moyen Age, both published by CTHS, Paris.
The abbey is a fine example of a monument studied thoroughly and presented to its best advantage. It is worth a trip for those of you contemplating a visit to Burgundy.