page_title: Aubeterre-sur-Dronne
section_title: Religious heritage
hierarchical_section_title: Aubeterre-sur-Dronne / Culture and heritage / Religious heritage
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Crypte de l'église monolithe Saint-Jean d'Aubeterre
context_page_description: Aubeterre-sur-Dronne is a commune in the Charente department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. It has been officially listed as "One of the most beautiful villages in France" since 1993. Aubeterre-sur-Dronne is also well known for its Church of Saint Jean, an underground, Monolithic Church.
  Its inhabitants are known as Aubeterriens or Aubeterriennes. In 2017, the commune had a population of 386.
context_section_description: The Minimes Convent, founded in 1617, is now a retirement home. The Chapel (open to the public) combines classical and late Gothic architectural elements. There is a Retable in monumental stone, which shall include representatives of angels holding in their hands suns. The cloister adjoining the chapel has pure and simple lines and is modelled after the Minimes Convent of Blaye.
  The Altar and Retable (17th century) are registered as an historical object.
  The Church of Saint-Jacques (12th century) was seriously damaged during the Wars of religion (13 and 14 May 1562) and was almost completely rebuilt in 1710. Nevertheless, it has an imposing Saintonge Romanesque facade dating to the 12th century. 18.40 metres long and 12 metres high, it is divided into three horizontal and vertical sections punctuated by large arches and spaces between the columns.
  The lobed arch in the portal shows Hispano-Moorish influences and includes five arches decorated with geometric patterns. The upper parts include a Zodiac, a Romanesque arch (which probably once held statues of the twelve apostles, now gone), and symbolic representations (e.g. Coquilles Saint-Jacques) of a stage on the Way of St. James to Saint Jacques de Compostela.
  The interior of the church is very sober and divided into three aisles - the whole being covered with exposed timbers. The flat chevet is pierced by a large bay in which modern stained glass was installed in 1970. The south aisle houses a Madonna with child from the 16th century.
  The Church of Saint-Jacques contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
  2 Bronze Bells (1673)
  A Bronze Bell (1600)
  A Lectern (17th century)
  A Statue: Virgin and Child (18th century)
  2 Statues: Angels adoring (18th century)
  An Altar with two tiers (18th century)
  A Winged Tabernacle (18th century)
  A Statue:Virgin and Child (19th century)
  2 Choir Candlesticks (13th century)
  A Capital (12th century)
  The Church of Saint-Jacques gallery
  The Subterranean Monolithic Church (7th century)
  The subterranean monolithic church of Saint-Jean is an underground church carved into a cliff overlooking the Dronne in the 7th century and greatly enlarged in the 12th century by a community of Benedictine monks. From the nave to the centre of the vault with its semi-circular arches is nearly 20 metres. At about 15 metres high it is bordered on three sides by a gallery, a kind of triforium, which is accessed by a staircase carved into the rock. A series of large arches and massive columns (from an octagonal base to a square at the top level) mark the separation with the lateral nave.
  This cave church has unique furniture comprising an imposing stone reliquary (6 metres high) - a masterpiece of Romanesque art, a cave of relics, an early Christian baptismal font decorated with a Greek cross, and a crypt. The original chapel, carved in the 7th century contains nearly 80 medieval sarcophagi. These tombs were discovered between 1958 and 1961. Burials were performed in the nave until 1865 when the practice was prohibited for reasons of public health.
  The Subterranean monolithic church of Saint-Jean is one of the main rock-hewn churches of France. It has two "sisters" in the region: the Monolithic church of Saint-Émilion and the Chapel of the Hermitage of Saint-Martial at Mortagne-sur-Gironde.
  The Church of Saint-Jean contains the tomb of François d'Esparbes de Lussan, Marshal of Aubeterre, and Hippolyte Bouchard which is registered as a historical object.
  The Subterranean Monolithic Church of Saint-Jean Gallery
  The Convent of the Poor Clares, founded in 1620, is now privately owned. It has a military aspect to its entrance with battlements and a parapet. This former Saint Francis Hospice, which dated from the 14th century, was originally built to help pilgrims, the sick, and the needy.
caption: Crypt of the Subterranean Church of Saint-Jean where there is an image
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