The sites

A bit of history

Overlooking the confluence of the Rhône and the Gère, all that remains of the abbey of Saint-André-le-Bas, which might date back to the 6th century, is the church and cloister-both remarkable examples of Rhône region Roman art.

Thanks to the income generated by their many properties, the abbots of the 12th century were able to commission renovation and redecoration work, which stopped in the early 13th century. But the stability of the church must already have been causing a few worries at the time, which is why the architects decided to support the walls of the nave with buttresses.

This religious establishment was not isolated from public life; the church was a royal chapel during the brief reign of Boson in the late 9th century. Elections and consul meetings were sometimes held there in the late 14th century.

There followed several centuries of decline and, following a recruitment crisis resulting in a shortage of monks, the abbey was closed in 1765. It was then occupied, from 1771-1772, by a chapter of canons from Saint-Chef-en-Dauphiné. In the late 18th century, some revolutionary ceremonies took place in the church.

A masterpiece of Roman art

The architecture and sculpted ornamentation which we owe to the architects and artists of the Roman era bear witness to the survival of ancient models, in a city where ruins of Roman monuments remained. As in the cathedral, certain elements of ancient architecture were re-used there (large columns and chancel capitals). The sculpted iconographic themes thus draw their inspiration from the ancient repertoire: Corinthian capital florets and comedy mask. A fantastic bestiary and biblical scenes formed a language full of imagery to remind the monks and the congregation of the need for Christians to fight against evil, which is omnipresent in the form of monstrous beasts.

The restoration of the cloister galleries was completed in 1938 but did not fully restore the original arrangements; thus the 'upper cloister' above the ground-floor galleries was not preserved.

There are currently three rooms used for the temporary exhibits that are organised throughout the year.