Payerne Abbey

Payerne was a Cluniac priory founded in the tenth century under the patronage of Queen Bertha of Burgundy, and the abbey church built through the eleventh and twelfth centuries is the largest Romanesque building in the country. Its interior is severe and very tall for its date, with a nave of massive piers, and the masonry is laid in alternating bands of different coloured stone - yellow, grey and greenish - so the walls are patterned without any decoration being applied. The Reformation ended monastic use in 1536 and the building served as a granary, barracks and prison for centuries, which is why it survived without baroque remodelling. Restoration completed in 2020 reopened it with the museum in the adjoining buildings.

What you actually see

• Switzerland's largest Romanesque church - the scale unusual for the date.
• Banded coloured masonry - patterning built into the stone itself.
• Centuries as a granary and prison - the reason nothing baroque was added.
• A restoration finished in 2020 - the church and museum reopened together.

When to go

All year. Two hours.

Honest expectations

The church is a museum, not a working parish - expect bare stone rather than furnishing. It closes on Mondays. Payerne is a small Broye town with limited other draws. Displays are in French and German.

Nearby

Avenches with its Roman remains is south; Murten is north-west.