Église abbatiale Saint-Pierre de Solignac, Romanesque abbey church in Solignac, France.
The église abbatiale Saint-Pierre de Solignac is a Romanesque abbey church in the village of Solignac, about 10 kilometers south of Limoges. It has a large single nave covered by a row of domes, which sets it apart from most other Romanesque churches in the region.
The monastery was founded in the 7th century by Saint Eligius, a goldsmith at the Frankish royal court, and quickly became a major religious center in the region. The church standing today dates mainly from the 12th century, rebuilt after a fire destroyed the earlier structure.
The village of Solignac grew up around the abbey, and the name comes from Solemniacum, the land of the Gallo-Roman owner Solemnis. The abbey church is a stop on the via Lemovicensis, one of the routes of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The church keeps reliquaries linked to Saint Eligius and to Saint Théau, the Saxon slave he bought who later directed the abbey's silver workshop.
The church stands in the center of the village and is easy to reach on foot from the small parking area at the edge of Solignac. A visit in clear weather is a good idea, as natural light entering through the windows makes the stone carvings easier to see inside.
The abbey was a major silversmith's workshop in the 7th century: Saint Audoin, in his Life of Eligius, noted that skilled workers in many crafts lived there. Thillo, a Saxon slave bought by Eligius, took over the silverware production and died in 702 near Solignac, at the site of the church of Le Vigen. Reliquaries linked to Eligius and to Saint Théau are kept in the church.
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