The holy places of France · Burgundy-Franche-Comté
Fontenay The Abbey of Fontenay
Côte-d’Or, Burgundy-Franche-Comté
- Feast
- August 20
- Getting there
- About fifteen minutes by road from Montbard, which is about an hour from Paris by high-speed train.
- On our way
- Via Benedicti
History
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux founded Fontenay in 1118 or 1119, and its church was consecrated in 1147 by Pope Eugene III, himself a Cistercian. It is one of the oldest and most complete Cistercian abbeys in Europe, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1981.
The monks left at the Revolution, and the abbey was a paper mill in the nineteenth century before it was restored. It belongs to a family that opens it to visitors. The church has no ornament, as Bernard required of Cistercian building.
Further reading: Vézelay: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Basilica of Mary Magdalene.
To see and to pray
- The churchBare stone and daylight.
- The cloister and the chapter houseOf the twelfth century.
- The forgeThe great workshop building traditionally called the monks’ forge.
Feast
- August 20Feast of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
The saint of this place
- Saint Bernard of ClairvauxAbbot of Clairvaux and Doctor of the Church
On our way
Getting there
About fifteen minutes by road from Montbard, which is about an hour from Paris by high-speed train.