10 - La Pierre Chany

Pébrac Abbey Around 1060, a monk of minor Auvergne nobility, Pierre Chavanon, withdrew to Pébrac and founded a monastery. His reputation for holiness won him the favour of the local nobility, reinforced by donations from the Bishop of Clermont, Etienne de Polignac, and from Count Robert IV of Auvergne. When he died around 1080, his tomb quickly became the object of a devotion that reached beyond the bounds of the territory. The monastery became an abbey in the second half of the 12th century. From the 14th century, the buildings went through successive phases of decay and revival, such as the one in the 15th century under the three Flaghac abbots, whose coats of arms can be seen in various places.

The abbey is arranged around a courtyard that corresponds to the former cloister, with the church to the north, the abbot's residence to the west and the two conventual wings to the south and east. To get in, you go through a round-arched porch whose heavy wooden doors could be blocked by manoeuvring beams. Overlooking the lower courtyard, the round tower known as “Labistor” is less a defensive structure than a symbol of seigneurial power. The objects kept in the Abbey Treasury are surprising, such as the 11th-century cope, a 15th-century nativity scene and many other remains…