Cloître Saint-Saturnin dans l'hospice du faubourg de Vienne
MonumentHidden Treasure
Cloître Saint-Saturnin dans l'hospice du faubourg de Vienne, located in Blois (Loir-et-Cher), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.5817, 1.3376
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098339
Nestling in the old faubourg de Vienne in Blois, this 15th-century Gothic cloister, the remains of a medieval hospice, offers a gallery of strikingly serene arcatures, listed as a Historic Monument in 1886.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Tucked away in the faubourg de Vienne, away from the usual tourist routes in Blois, lies one of the most moving examples of medieval charitable architecture in the Loire Valley: the Saint-Saturnin cloister. Set against what was once a parish hospice, this flamboyant Gothic complex invites you to take a timeless break from the hustle and bustle of the city's main thoroughfares. What makes this place truly unique is the overlapping of its functions: the cloister was not only a place for monks to wander around and meditate, it was also a cemetery and a place of remembrance for the parishioners and patients of the hospice. This dual role - caring for the living and resting the dead - gives it a particularly dense atmosphere, steeped in human history and popular spirituality. The galleries of the cloister, punctuated by arcades with finely worked mouldings, evoke the rigorous sobriety of the hospital foundations of the late Middle Ages, where the stone expresses both moral rigour and compassion for those most in need. The sculpted decoration, discreet but meticulous, testifies to the high quality of local craftsmanship, heir to the great Blois building sites of the 15th century. To visit the Saint-Saturnin cloister is to enter into the intimacy of a little-known Blois, that of the industrious and devout suburbs, far removed from the royal pomp of the château. It's a contemplative, almost secretive experience, and all the more precious for being such a little-visited site. Photographers and lovers of Gothic architecture will find it a great place to take photos of great luminous quality, particularly at the end of the day when the golden limestone glows in the setting sun.
Architecture
The Saint-Saturnin cloister is part of the late flamboyant Gothic tradition typical of the Middle Loire region in the 15th century. Its rectangular layout, structured around a central garden once used as a burial ground, is delimited by covered galleries whose arcades rest on slender columns with moulded capitals. The slightly raised pointed arches give the building a measured verticality, typical of buildings commissioned by the bourgeoisie or parishioners rather than large monastic foundations. The materials used reflect the local resources of the Loire Valley: tuffeau, a soft, chalky limestone extracted in abundance from the cliffs of the Blésois region, makes up most of the masonry. This rock, which is both easy to cut and luminously white when cut, enabled local craftsmen to create simple but precise mouldings, particularly on the bases and capitals of the columns that punctuate the bays of the galleries. The roofs of the galleries, which are probably low-pitched and covered with flat tiles, have wooden ceilings or barrel vaults, depending on the bay. The sober ornamental style of this cloister sets it apart from the more lavish buildings of the same period in the great abbeys of the Loire Valley. Here, there are no sculpted tympanums or emblazoned keystones: the architecture expresses above all the charitable and humble vocation of the place, serving the poor and sick of the suburb, in a spirit of deliberate pared-down simplicity that can be found in many of the hôtels-Dieu of medieval France.
Related Figures
Saint Saturnin (Sernin) — saint patron éponyme de la paroisse, premier évêque de Toulouse et martyr du IIIe siècle, dont le culte structura la vie religieuse du faubourgLouis XII — roi de France né à Blois en 1462, dont le règne (1498-1515) coïncide avec le plein essor architectural du Blésois et favorisa les fondations charitables dans la villeCharles d'Orléans — père de Louis XII et mécène lettré établi à Blois, dont la cour contribua au rayonnement artistique et à la multiplication des chantiers architecturaux dans les faubourgsProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, dont l'action pionnière dans la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle posa les bases de la politique de protection qui aboutit au classement de 1886Adolphe Lance — architecte des Monuments Historiques actif dans le Loir-et-Cher au XIXe siècle, probablement impliqué dans les premières campagnes d'inventaire et de sauvegarde du cloître
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Cloître Saint-Saturnin dans l'hospice du faubourg de Vienne located?
Cloître Saint-Saturnin dans l'hospice du faubourg de Vienne is located in Blois, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Cloître Saint-Saturnin dans l'hospice du faubourg de Vienne built?
Cloître Saint-Saturnin dans l'hospice du faubourg de Vienne dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Cloître Saint-Saturnin dans l'hospice du faubourg de Vienne open to visitors?
Cloître Saint-Saturnin dans l'hospice du faubourg de Vienne is currently closed to visitors.