Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solignac

To populate the new monastery, Eligius brought monks from Luxeuil (Haute-Saône), founded by Saint Columbanus in the second half of the 6th century and following a rule written by the founder himself. Thus, the monastery of Solignac was established, with its first abbot being Saint Remaclus, also from Luxeuil. The monastery soon became a major religious center, training notable figures in the monastic world of the time, such as Saint Eligius himself — later bishop of Tournai and Noyon —, Saint Remaclus — bishop of Maastricht and founder of the monastery of Stavelot (Belgium) —, and also Saints Hadelin and Thillo, the latter a former slave.

It maintained ties with major monastic centers such as Saint-Denis (Île-de-France), Saint-Géraud d’Aurillac (Cantal), La Chaise-Dieu (Haute-Loire), Fleury (Loiret), Beaulieu and Saint-Pierre de Vigeois (both in Corrèze), and obtained various titles and privileges. At the same time, the abbey amassed a rich treasure composed of numerous relics and became a stopover for pilgrims. Thanks to this, the monastery church underwent various phases of construction, restoration, and alteration. The current building is largely a work from the 12th century.

The current church building essentially dates from the 12th century. It is known to have been consecrated in 1143, but a later fire required restoration and a new consecration in 1195. Over the centuries, it underwent other destructions and reconstructions. It is a single-nave building with two bays covered by domes and a transept. The central apse, as wide as the nave, contains three radial apses. The transept arms each have two additional small apses. The western façade features an entrance porch and a bell tower, built later and now heavily altered. The surviving monastic buildings date from the reconstruction by the Maurists.