Saint-Pierre le Puellier Gardens

Here you stand in the midst of a rich tapestry of history, with Roman and medieval remnants intertwined. In the 500s, after her husband Clovis passed away, Queen Clotilde came to settle in Tours. She played a significant role in the life of the city and returned to Paris only to be buried alongside her husband. A devout woman, she had a monastery built right here for young girls. It was called the Puellier monastery, next to the church of the same name. “Puellier” means unmarried young girl in Latin, by the way. The monastery existed for several centuries, first as a monastery for men, then as a parish. The parish church was renovated in the 12th century and expanded in the 14th. You can see some remnants of it around the pub on your left. However, during archaeological excavations, evidence was found that traced it’s existance even further back in time with the discovery of Gallo-Roman foundations from the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It’s believed that there may have been public baths here. Around 500 graves dating from the 10th to the 18th centuries were also found. One thing’s for sure, a lot has happened on this site. You’re truly in a place steeped in history. It’s quite interesting to pause for a moment and think about all that has occurred over the centuries in these places we pass through without even giving them a second thought.