Go on a treasure hunt with Virginie Girod in Rennes-le-Château!
In the 19th century, a priest from this small village in Aude made a fabulous find there, without ever revealing anything. Since then, generations of treasure hunters have transformed the basement of this village into a veritable Gruyere cheese, to no avail. A mystery that went so far as to inspire the famous novel “Da Vinci Code”!
In 1885 Father Saunière became parish priest of Rennes-le-Château. Christianity was then losing ground in this part of the south of France. The church, dedicated to Mary Magdalene, fell into ruin. Popular belief has it that the saint ended her life here! A fervent royalist, Abbot Saunière attracted the favor of the Countess of Chambord, who gave him the funds necessary to renovate the church. However, the latter seems to contain many secrets: a pillar of the hollow altar contains scrolls, a cauldron filled with gold coins is buried under the slabs… The priest ends up searching his church alone, out of sight and his attitude is strange. He is absent for a long time, hanging around the village cemetery. Above all, his lifestyle changes completely! It’s a whole area that he’s bringing out of the ground.
A neo-Gothic tower, a villa in which the abbot held many sumptuous receptions. His wealth does not go unnoticed. The Church suspects him of celebrating private masses to make ends meet and assigns him to another parish. Saunière resigns to stay in Rennes-le-Château. He died there in 1917 and took his secret to his grave. Some think that he would have found the treasure of the Cathars, that of the Templars, or the Visigoths. In short, the mystery remains!
Themes covered: treasure, Third Republic, religion, mystery, royalism
“At the heart of history” is a Europe 1 Studio podcast
– Presenter: Virginie Girod
– Author: Frédéric Pennel
– Production: Caroline Garnier
– Director: Clément Ibrahim
– Artistic direction: Julien Tharaud
– Composition of the original music: Julien Tharaud and Sébastien Guidis
– Edition and Distribution: Nathan Laporte
– Coordination of partnerships: Marie Corpet
– Visual: Sidonie Mangin
Bibliography:
Rennes-le-Château – The treasure of Abbé Saunière, by Vinciane Denis, Marabout editions
Rennes-le-Château, the great heritage, by Christian Doumergue, editions Lacour Colporteur
Mysterious France, by David Galley, editions of L’Opportun
