Adorned with a central alcove housing a statue of the Virgin and Child, the baroque façade of Saint Bruno Church in the heart of Bordeaux may hold another treasure. Back during the French Revolution when the parish was regularly looted, Carthusian monks decided to hide the church's valuables... or at least that's what a 200-year-old rumour would have us believe. In the 19th century, this tale was repeated so far and wide that treasure hunters from France and Navarre scoured every nook and cranny of the building, leaving no tile unturned. In 1850, people did find a secret vault, but it turned out to be the final resting place of a handful of clerics who sought refuge there and later died of hunger and thirst. Within their crypt, the men did not leave a single clue as to the supposed location of Saint Bruno’s fortunes.
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