Neuvy-Saint-Sépulchre - Saint-Étienne

This unique church complex, once part of a collegiate and dedicated to Saint-Jaques, combines a round church and attached to this a rectangular basilica.

A local noble named Eudes of Deols, who had traveled to the Holy Land in 1027, founded this church around 1040, a replica of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. Over centuries this was a major stop-over for pilgrims following the Via Lemovicensis.

Eleven pillars form the rotunda, that has a diameter of 8,30m. The number "11" may stand for the number of apostles after Judas left. The pillars have massive capitals. Since Louis IX (aka "Saint Louis" an aedicula, symbolising the tomb, was placed in the center. Within this shrine relics of the crown of thorns and the true cross were kept.