A little history
Saint-Junien grew out of the modest hermitage built at the end of the 5th century by the hermit Amand and his disciple Junien in the Comodoliac forest. At the end of the medieval period, a number of craftsmen specialized in leatherwork (megisserie, glove-making), creating a tradition that has been maintained to this day, and making Saint-Junien’s reputation known the world over. The quality of the waters of the Vienne and Glane rivers has also attracted paper mills since the 16th century, whose successors have made the region one of France’s major paperboard centers.
In addition to its know-how, this town of character offers many other architectural treasures: the streets of the gantière town, the collegiate church (built between the 11th and 13th centuries), the Consuls’ house (14th century), the Notre-Dame-du-Pont chapel (15th century) and the terraces of the Saint-Amand abbey. And let’s not forget the banks of the Glane, where the painter Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot found his inspiration, and where a site now bears his name.
Collegiale De Saint Junien 1
