Abbaye de Charlieu

The monastery in Charlieu was founded in 872 by Boson, Bishop of Valence, and dedicated to Saint Fortunatus. It is believed that this refers to Venantius Fortunatus, a poet and Bishop of Poitiers from the Merovingian period. The first church, a pre-Romanesque structure from the 9th century, was expanded in the 10th century through extensive reconstruction, allowing for a stone vault. As early as 927, the monastery joined the Cluniac reform movement and became a Benedictine abbey. The third and largest church was built under Abbots Odilo and Hugo and consecrated in 1094 by Pope Urban II. In the 12th century, an open narthex was added to the west facade. The abbey was an important stop on the Way of St. James. Around 1180, King Philippe Auguste had the monastery and the town fortified. In the 16th century, the Prior's House was built. At the beginning of the 19th century, the abbey church was largely destroyed, but the impressive tympana and parts of the west facade were preserved.

The Abbey of Saint-Fortunat is located in Charlieu, in the Loire department, in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. It is situated at an elevation of approximately 269 m above sea level.

Visitors can today explore the church. Of the third abbey church, the west facade with the first two side aisle bays and the two-story narthex are preserved. The foundations of earlier buildings are also exposed. Among the convent buildings, the chapter house and cloister from the Middle Ages, as well as the Prior's House built in the 16th century, remain.

• Château de Montrenard (castle), approx. 4.3 km away
• Château de Marchangy (castle), approx. 4.9 km away
• Château de la Garde (castle), approx. 5.7 km away
• Château de Saint-Pierre (castle), approx. 6.3 km away