Heritage
The Abbey: An extraordinary spiritual heritage
One of the main places of pilgrimage of western Christianity since it was built in the year 515 in memory of Saint Maurice and his companions who were tortured around the year 280, the abbey enjoyed the favours of many sovereigns and prelates throughout the Middle Ages. The Martolet archaeological site testifies to the importance of the successive churches that have been built at the foot of the cliff over the passing centuries.
The exceptional Treasure reveals the intensity of the religion dedicated to the bones of the martyrs of the Theban legion preserved in prestigious reliquaries, the vast majority of which are masterpieces of medieval jewellery. Watched over by the Romanesque bell tower, the present basilica and the conventual buildings have remained the framework of an uninterrupted spiritual radiance for the past 1500 years. Besides its castle, bridgehead over the Rhone, the small city of Agaune rebuilt after a fire (1693) offers, along the main street, a series of beautiful civil buildings.
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