Sennecey Heritage Association

A hermitage is a place where a hermit lives in isolation, usually for religious retreat. The main purpose of a hermitage is for solitary spiritual life. A hermitage has key characteristics like:
- It is in a remote and quiet location.
- It has a simple architectural style.
- It is associated with prayer, solitude and religious life.
- Sometimes it has a small chapel attached.
 

At least one hermitage is confirmed in Sennecey-le-Grand i.e. the Ermitage Saint-Claude.
 

A castle is a large fortified residence built mainly for defense and power. The main purpose of a castle is for protection and authority. A castle has key characteristics like:
- It has thick stone walls and defensive features (towers, battlements, narrow openings).
- It is the residence of the nobles, the lords, or military leaders.
- Its typical location is in strategic hill or village border.
- It controls surrounding territory.
 

Up to know there are three castles in the community of Sennecey‑le‑Grand.

The function of the washhouse was recognized as early as 1630, according to the historical dictionary of the French language. However, it was only at the end of the 18th century that washhouses appeared in response to a need for hygiene following the recurring epidemics that decimated the population.
 

Each hamlet in our commune has its washhouse, a quintessential social space where women gathered to do laundry and exchange all the latest village news.
 

From the 11th century onwards, crosses were erected at the entrances to towns and villages, at crossroads, in squares and in cemeteries. Crosses and calvaries, testifying to the impact of Christianization and the fervor of the Christian faith, gained considerable importance in the 15th and 16th centuries. The expansion continued until the revolution, a tragic period during which many of these monuments were destroyed. But in the 19th century, with the return of religious practice, new crosses were erected.
 

Sennecey has no fewer than 12 crosses or calvaries spread across various strategic locations in the town.

As early as 910, William of Aquitaine founded Cluny Abbey at a pivotal moment in the religious and artistic history of the Western Middle Ages. The new Abbey promoted the reform of the Benedictine Rule and, in a short time, created a vast network of monastic dependencies and affiliated houses, thus becoming one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in the Christian world.
 

Raoul Glaber, a monk and chronicler of the first millennium, said of this period: "It was as if the world itself had shaken itself and, shedding its antiquity, had clothed itself on all sides in a white robe of churches".