Pyrénées-Orientales A brief history... Saint-Martin-du-Canigou abbey is perched on the top of a rock and only accessible on foot. Building work was instigated in 1007AD by Guilfred, count of Cerdagne. Seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1428, it was rebuilt five years later. But the worship of saint Martin gradually fell away and was dropped after the departure of the last monks in the XVIIIth century, leaving pillagers and smugglers to take the furnishings and capitals. It was only in 1902 that the bishop of Perpignan launched an appeal, exchanging "40 days of indulgence" against funds and gathering together the objects previously at the abbey but by then scattered throughout the region. Monks returned to the abbey in 1988, and have welcomed believers and tourists ever since.

Romanesque treasures Saint-Martin-du-Canigou abbey is a curious mixture of pre-Romanesque and primitive Romanesque styles. The abbey church, with its crenellated bell tower, is built over a vaulted crypt supported by granite columns. The cloister is both a place of meditation and a means of accessing the chapter house, refectory and dormitory. Note its pink marble capitals which originally decorated a long-destroyed second cloister. The sculptures mix Biblical and profane scenes: dances, punishments (a mitred bishop roasting in hell!), reptiles, lions, a monkey and a dog holding paws…

		Abbaye de Saint-Martin-du-Canigou 66820 Casteil Phone: 04 68 05 50 03   Reception Office du Tourisme 68820 Vernet-les-Bains Phone: 04 68 05 55 35	Visiting times Open all year round but closed on Tuesdays from 1/10 to 31/05. Morning: 10am-12 noon (12.30pm on Sundays and bank holidays) Afternoon: from 01/06 to 30/09., tours at 2pm, 3pm, 4pm and 5pm. From 01/10. to 31/05, tours at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm. N.B.: the abbey is accessible only after a 35- to 40-minute walk up from Casteil. People unable to walk are requested to contact the Tourist Office.

Access: From Perpignan, take the N116 to Villefranche-de-Conflent then follow Vernet-les-Bains and Casteil