Baptistère Saint-Jean

About

The Saint John Baptistery in Poitiers is a very ancient Christian monument, dating back to the second half of the fourth - beginning of the fifth century. Although strongly redesigned over the centuries, it is the building that best illustrates the dependence of the Merovingian architecture with its ancient foundations, but also the abandonment of classical principles. Saved from demolition in 1834, he was the subject of numerous excavation campaigns leading to controversial synthesises.

It contains a museum space with the Merovingian collections of the Western Antiquary Society. Since 1750, the Baptistery Saint John de Poitiers has been a subject of debate between the supporters of a Christian edifice and those of a pagan temple, but it also becomes an example of the evolution of archaeology and its limits, from a history of romantic and intuitive art to the establishment of typologies. The interest and work done on this building seems to show the will to safeguard this strong symbol of Christian presence in the city since ancient times.

After the Revolution, saved from destruction, it became an object of scientific research, as well as a heritage property and...