Le Minervois : historic region in the Languedoc

St Jean du Trou

Commune :	St. Jean du Minervois
Location:	between the hamlets of Gimios and Barroubio about a km north-east of the village center of Saint Jean.
Visits:	Opposite the Cave Cooperative in the village of Saint Jean, take the turn to Barroubio. Go all the way up to Barroubio and at the entrance to the hamlet, turn left just in front of the first house and you'll spot a sign board with info and directions for walking to the Chapelle. The board says it is 300 m but it must be twice that. However, it is a fairly straightforward walk, well signed, descending through shady treelined paths to the canyon. When we visited, the church was not locked but there is almost nothing inside it.
Comments:	The first mention of this chapelle is in 940 when it was given to the Abbaye of St Pons by the Archbishop of Narbonne It was built on the site of an ancient hermitage, surrounded by the cliffs of the canyon at a point where two streams meet. Now surrounded by trees, it is difficult to get a view point in the canyon for photography The Chapelle is also known as Saint Jean de Dieuvaille. It was rebuilt in the XIII the century with ogival vaults. The crypt dates from 1767 and the present roof was replaced in 1977. The adjacent cemetary appears to have been used as recently as 1985. Local legend says that close to the chapel, there is an old oak tree where the dead seek the shade in its trunk.


Remains of decor at east end.	N.D. du Sacré Coeur 1875