Église Saint-Austremoine d'Issoire

About

The Saint-Austermoine Abbey is a Romanesque building located in Issoire en Auvergne, in the French department of Puy-de-Dôme in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is part of the five "major" Romanesque churches in Auvergne, with the Basilica of Notre-Dame-du-Port de Clermont-Ferrand, the Basilica of Notre-Dame d'Orcival, the Church of Saint-Nectaire and the Church of Notre-Dame de Saint-Saturnin.

History: The Abbey of Saint-Austermoine is an ancient Benedictine abbey built during the first third of the 12th century and more precisely around 1130, making it the second of the five major churches in Auvergne. It is dedicated to Austermoine de Clermont or Stremonius, the first bishop of Clermont and evangelizer of the Auvergne at the end of the third century. After ravaging Le Malzieu-Ville, Captain Matthieu Merle seized Issoire on 15 October 1575. He tried to burn Saint-Austeroine, but did not succeed, upset, he caused three religious to skin alive. It has been classified as historical monuments since 1840: it is part of the first list of French historical monuments, the list of historical monuments protected in France.