Saint-Maurice is a village in the Rhone Valley and the seat of one of the most important monasteries in Switzerland. The local monastery of the regular canons has over 1500 years of tradition, and its treasury contains magnificent works of sacred art.
The town was founded on the site of the Roman settlement of Agaunum. In the 3rd century, St. Maurycy, commander of the Theban legion that converted to Christianity. In 515, a church was erected on his grave and on the ruins of the Roman temple of the god Maurice, which became the heart of the abbey under construction.
Since the 6th century, the history of Saint-Maurice is inextricably linked with the Abbey of St. Maurice. Romanesque-gothic monastic buildings were for centuries a place where culture and art developed. The treasury of Saint-Maurice Abbey is one of the most important collections of sacred art in Switzerland.
In addition to the abbey, the attractions of Saint-Maurice also include the Gothic castle of St. Maurice, who in the past guarded the passage through the narrow valley of the Rhone in this place. In turn, in the Historic Fortress of St. Maurice, you can see military exhibitions, including fortifications from the Second World War.
