Fontevraud Abbey, Loire Valley guide
Visitez Loire Valley: gites : hotels : location des voitures
Fontevraud Abbey is 13km southeast of Saumur, and gains its importance because both French and English monarchs are buried here.
The abbey was first established in 1099. Unusually it had both a nunnery and a monastery, and was under the command of an abbess (you can see pictures of many of the abbesses in the abbey). The idea was apparently a great success and several other abbeys were established on the same basis.
Further construction, mostly in the 12th century, gave rise to the great complex of buildings we can now see (and more).
The highlight of the complex is the abbey church, a great space with plenty of character and interest despite its size (although a little over-restored) which contains also the tombstone effigies of Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart.
Don't miss also the carved doorway that passes through to the chapterhouse and, moving on a little, the octagonal kitchen with its incredibly turretted roof, and the central interior courtyard.
The abbey ceased to be used for its original purpose with the arrival of the revolution, and became a prison until the 1960's. The abbey is now home to a wide range of other cultural activities and exhibitions, and is a centre for medieval archaeology.
Fontevraud Abbey: tourisme, carte, guide de voyage et gites
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Tombstone of Richard the Lionheart at the Abbeye de Fontevraud |
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Carte de Fontevraud, France |
(Copyright note: the text and photo above are made available under the GNU Free Documentation License)