The old Saint-Sauveur church is located in Nevers, in the Nièvre department. Its remains are visible on Place Mossé, at the outlet of the large bridge over the Loire, near the historic city center.
The building erected in the 12th century served a priory founded by Bishop Hugues the Great and which was then owned by the Benedictines of Cluny. The church also became a parish after the Middle Ages. Later, the priory became a seminary.
Sold as national property during the Revolution, the church collapsed in February 1838.
Only the side portal overlooking the square and the bridge over the Loire remains. Decorated with semi-circular arches, it was framed by pillars: one of them, on the right, has been preserved, but its capital appears to be degraded.
If we enter under the porch, we notice a second arch whose tapered columns were better preserved, still equipped with capitals representing fruits, animals and people.
Also visible in the courtyard are elements of the nave formerly attached to the city walls (column with capital), bases of vaults and some evidence of arcades.
Other vestiges, better preserved, such as the tympanum of the portal (which evokes the tradition of the keys of Saint Peter) and sculpted capitals (one of them is decorated with a miniature reproduction of a Byzantine church) are now kept at the Nivernais archaeological museum (contact +33 3 86 57 05 16).
As for the site itself of the old church with its gate and its courtyard, listed in the Inventory, it appears on a pedestrian path dedicated to the heritage of the town center of Nevers. This is dotted with explanatory panels. Information on +33 3 86 68 46 00.
