Churches in the Pyrenees

Papa says I never pass a church without going inside, but I did just that yesterday in Lourdes.  We drove slowly past Basilique Notre Dame du Rosaire without stopping.  There were people everywhere and no parking spaces available.  We visited Eglise des Templiers today, in Luz Saint-Sauveur, dating to the 13th century, and passed to the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem in the 14th century, it was a fortified church, with frescos, and a Baroque chapel.

On our way back to Saint-Savin, Papa dropped me off at Chapelle Notre Dame de Piétât, dating to the 11th century.  It is sited beautifully, on a hill overlooking a valley with sharp peaks of the Pyrénées surrounding.  The Chapelle was not open, so I walked around it and back into Saint-Savin.

Papa and I walked through the village of Saint-Savin to Abbatiale Romane de Saint-Savin-de Lavedan.  It was first a monastery in the 4th century, destroyed by Arab invasions in the 8th century, reconstructed by Charlemagne, and again destroyed in the 9th century.  It was reconstructed in 945, with work done at various times in succeeding centuries.  There was a wedding this afternoon, so we waited until everyone was gone to go inside the church, and explore around the grounds.