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Abbey Church of Otterberg

Abbey Church of Otterberg

Otterberg, DE

The Abbey Church of Otterberg was founded in 1143 by Cistercians as the abbey church of a daughter abbey of the Eberbach monastery. In the 15th century, the monastery slowly declined. In 1504, and in 1525 during the Peasants' War, the monastery was burned and plundered. At the end of the 16th century, the abbey church began to be used simultaneously by the Catholic and Protestant parishes, but not without causing disputes. In 1708, therefore, a separation wall was built between the two spaces. The choir hall with the transept is now used as the Catholic part, the remaining nave as the Protestant part. In 1979, the wall was removed as part of a major renovation, but the structure of the property was not changed.

Abbey Church of Saint-Cesaire

Abbey Church of Saint-Cesaire

Maurs La Jolie, FR

The construction of a third abbey church in Maurs-la-Jolie was undertaken at the end of the 14th century after two destructions in the 11th and 12th centuries. The choir dates from the beginning of the 15th century (date 1406 on one of the stained glass windows), as does the western portal.

Abbey Church of Saint-Geraud

Abbey Church of Saint-Geraud

Aurillac, FR

Former Benedictine abbey which was the model for the one in Cluny. It was founded before 885 in Auvergne by Count Géraud d'Aurillac.

Abbey Church of Saint-Pierre Notre-Dame-des-Ardents


Lagny-sur-Marne, FR

The abbey was founded in the 7th century, and is one of the few buildings in the town that survive from this period. It has been rebuilt several times following various destructions (natural or not). Joan of Arc stayed there in 1430 and performed a "miracle" in this church: the story is told there.

Abbey Church of Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul

Évaux-les-Bains, FR

The history of the monument begins when canons gather around the relics of the hermit Marien, who died in 513, located in the old Roman spa town of Evaux. The monument was an important monastery in the 9th century. The church was only attached in 1264 to the monastery of Saint-Amable de Riom.

Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy

Conques, FR


Abbey Church of Sainte-Valérie

Chambon-sur-Voueize, FR

In 857 the monks of the abbey of Saint-Martial de Limoges founded a monastery at Chambon-sur Voueize to protect the relics of Saint Valérie, of which the monastery of Saint-Martial only keeps the head, from Norman incursions.

Abbey Church of St. Peter

Abbey Church of St. Peter

, SE

The Abbey Church of St. Peter is a 13th-century Gothic brick church, which replaces an older Romanesque church. The monastery was demolished around 1600 and only the monastery church was preserved. In the 1920s, a complete restoration was carried out, which restored the church to its original appearance, but none of the original church facilities are preserved.

Abbey of Fontenay

Marmagne, FR


Abbey of Forest

Abbey of Forest

Forest, BE

The abbey of Forest, founded in 1106, lived from its glory days until the 15th century when the abbey was emptied of its inhabitants as a result of wars and epidemics. It was only in the 18th century that the abbey rose again and was rebuilt in its present form. However, this resurrection was short-lived because the French Revolution suppressed the religious community of the abbey and sold the building. The buildings that survived the dismantling now form a cultural centre for seminars, banquets and exhibitions.

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