Semur-en-Brionnais: One of Burgundy's Oldest Castles, Romanesque Towers and the Charolais Market
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
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250
XP
+100 France
= 350 total
1 day
Semur-en-Brionnais: One of Burgundy's Oldest Castles, Romanesque Towers and the Charolais Market
250 + 100 XP
Semur-en-Brionnais, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, keeps the Château Saint-Hugues, one of the oldest castles in Burgundy and the birthplace of Saint Hugh of Cluny: its rectangular keep stands 22 metres high on walls two metres thick at the base, the lowest courses of its foundations going back to the end of the 10th century and the rest rebuilt again and again between the 11th and the 15th. Beside it is the 12th-century collegiate church of Saint-Hilaire with its octagonal bell tower. Seven kilometres north, the priory church of Anzy-le-Duc raises a three-storey octagonal tower of golden stone, and seven kilometres north-east at Saint-Christophe-en-Brionnais a cattle market dating from the end of the 15th century still sells Charolais every Wednesday.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Visit the Château Saint-Hugues, one of the oldest castles in Burgundy, and go into its rectangular keep — 22 metres high, two metres thick at the base, with the beam holes of four vanished floors still in the walls
2
of 4
At the collegiate church of Saint-Hilaire, find the Christ in glory flanked by two angels on the tympanum of the main portal, then step inside and look back at the corbelled tribune built out over the doorway
3
of 4
At Anzy-le-Duc, find the octagonal bell tower with its three tiers of Lombard arcading, then read the south portal from top to bottom: the Adoration of the Magi and Original Sin on the tympanum, and the torments of the damned along the architrave below
4
of 4
Be at Saint-Christophe-en-Brionnais on a Wednesday and watch Charolais sold in both halves of the market, the old gré à gré haggling and the electronic cadran added in 2009, under a roof carrying nearly a hectare of solar panels
Visit the Château Saint-Hugues, one of the oldest castles in Burgundy, and go into its rectangular keep — 22 metres high, two metres thick at the base, with the beam holes of four vanished floors still in the walls
At the collegiate church of Saint-Hilaire, find the Christ in glory flanked by two angels on the tympanum of the main portal, then step inside and look back at the corbelled tribune built out over the doorway
At Anzy-le-Duc, find the octagonal bell tower with its three tiers of Lombard arcading, then read the south portal from top to bottom: the Adoration of the Magi and Original Sin on the tympanum, and the torments of the damned along the architrave below
Be at Saint-Christophe-en-Brionnais on a Wednesday and watch Charolais sold in both halves of the market, the old gré à gré haggling and the electronic cadran added in 2009, under a roof carrying nearly a hectare of solar panels
Before you go
The Château Saint-Hugues is shut from the start of November until around 10 March and closed on Mondays; entry is 5 euros for adults, 3 for children 7 to 15. The cattle market at Saint-Christophe-en-Brionnais trades on Wednesdays only.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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