Image: Site of the Abbey Church

Site of the former Cluny Abbey church (1088-1130), of which only the south transept survives, seen from the west in some dramatic evening light. The semicircular area in the foreground is the beginning of the parvis (an outdoor staircase). This led down to the huge antechurch or porch (1130-90), in which the foundations of pillars can be seen. The sloped-roof stone buildings are the surviving bases of the great west towers, the Barabans. Against a landscape of Burgundian hills in the background is the south transept, topped with the beautiful Clocher de l'Eau-Bénite ("Holy Water Belfry"). Cluny Abbey, Cluny, France.