Abbeys Of France
Below is an illustrated index of the 19 Abbeys of France profiled on Sacred Destinations so far. For photo credits, please see corresponding articles.
Caen, NormandyThe Ladies' Abbey was founded by Queen Mathilda, the wife of William the Conqueror, in 1063. Its church, La Trinité, is a fine example of Romanesque architecture.
Caen, NormandyThe Men's Abbey was founded by William the Conquerer in the 11th century. Its church, the Romanesque Église St-Etienne, is the largest and most impressive church in Caen.
Saint-Nicolas-les-CîteauxFounded in 1098, the Abbaye de Cîteaux is a historically important abbey located south of Dijon, France. It is the mother house of the Cistercian monastic order, which is named for the abbey.
Villeneuve-lès-Avignon
Cluny, BurgundyIn the Middle Ages, Cluny was the center of a major monastic movement. Its church was the largest Christian building in the world until St. Peter's was rebuilt in the 16th century.
Conques, Midi-PyreneesNestled high in the hills of southwest France, the picturesque little village of Conques is home to a magnificent Romanesque church and a golden medieval shrine.
Midi-PyreneesFounded in 1142, the Abbaye de l'Escaladieu served as the burial place for the counts of Bigorre and was a stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago.
BurgundyNestled in a wooded valley in Burgundy, the Abbey of Fontenay is a well-restored 12th-century Cistercian monastery founded by St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
Fontevraud l'Abbaye, Loire ValleyFounded in 1100, the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud is now a museum and cultural center. The beautifully restored abbey complex includes a Romanesque church with royal tombs, a lovely Renaissance cloister and a fascinating Byzantine-Romanesque kitchen.
Languedoc-RoussillonNestled in a green valley not far from Narbonne, the 12th-century Cisterican Abbey of Fontfroide is one of the most complete abbey complexes remaining today.
Moissac, Midi-PyreneesCompleted in 1100 AD, the cloister of Moissac Abbey in southwest France is one of the finest galleries of Romanesque art in the world. It is the oldest and largest cloister with narrative capitals.
NormandyThis small rocky island just off the north coast of France is topped with a magnificent fortified Benedictine abbey, built in the 11th century.
Saint-Hilaire, Languedoc-RoussillonThis medieval abbey near Carcassonne has a lovely cloister and a major work of medieval art: the sarcophagus of St. Sernin by the Master of Cabestany.
Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, CentreThis attractive and important Romanesque church on the Loire River has been a major place of pilgrimage since 673, when the relics of St. Benedict were brought here from Montecassino.
ProvenceFounded in 1148, the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque is a lovely Cistercian abbey and one of the best places to see Provence's famed lavender fields.
Languedoc-RoussillonBoasting a spectacular location in the Pyrenees mountains of southern France, the 11th-century abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou has a wonderful collection of Romanesque carvings.
Paris, Ile-de-FranceOne of the oldest churches in Paris, St-Pierre-de-Montmartre was consecrated in 1147. Inside the Romanesque church are 7th-century capitals and an early ribbed vault.
Vézelay, BurgundyFamed for its Romanesque sculpture, this 12th-century basilica is the largest Romanesque church in France. It attracted many pilgrims due to its relics of Mary Magdalene.
Languedoc-RoussillonValmagne Abbey is a beautiful Cistercian abbey that was transformed into a wine cellar after the French Revolution. Its magnificent Gothic church has been called the "Cathedral of the Vineyards."
|
