Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

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.

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.

Founded in 1118 by Bernard de Clairvaux, the abbey church of Fontenay is one of the oldest preserved Cistercian buildings and one of the most complete. It was built on the plan of the church of Clairvaux, under the influence of Saint Bernard. The construction of the church began in 1139 and was completed in 1147, thus consecrated by Pope Eugene III.

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.

The Abbey of Fossanova is a daughter of the Abbey of Altacomba from the second half of the 12th century. The Abbey of Fossanova is the oldest example of Cistercian Gothic art in Italy and, together with the Abbey of Casamari, one of its highest expressions. In the infirmary is the room where St. Thomas Aquinas lived, prayed and meditated during the last days of his life and where he died in 1274.

The abbey, which is a true witness to Provençal Romanesque art, was built between the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th on an older site. Classified as a historic monument since 1886,the monastery owes its construction to the powerful Abbey of Saint-Victor.

The abbey of Lérins is an abbey built between the 11th and 14th centuries, then in the 19th century after being closed during the French Revolution. This construction, however, replaced another monastery which existed since the 5th century and was supposedly founded by Honoratus who gave his name to the island.

The Abbey of Muri, dedicated to Saint Martin de Tours, was founded in 1027 by Radbot, Count of Habsburg. The abbey suffered several damages, including two fires in 1300 and 1363; an attack in 1530 by the troops of the canton of Bern, newly acquired during the Protestant Reformation, and then experienced major economic problems at the end of the 16th century before resuming its development at the beginning of the following century. During the French Revolution and the occupation of Switzerland, the Abbey of Muri long refused the closure of religious services decided by the occupiers. The abbot and the few remaining monks were saved by Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria, who offered them a residence in Gries, Tyrol. Since that time, the Abbot of Muri has also been Prior of Gries.

Benedictine abbey founded in 1850 by the Reverend Father Jean-Baptiste Muard, whose fame is due in part to the quality of the Zodiaque editions, founded in 1951 and specialising in Romanesque art, whose volumes were produced at the abbey's integrated printing works until the early 2000s.

The abbey of Nôtre-Dame-de-Ré, called Les Châteliers, is a former Cistercian monastery, now in ruins. The abbey was founded between 1150 and 1190 as a daughter monastery of the main abbey of Pontigny. The present ruins date from the 14th century. The monastery was first destroyed by an English fleet in 1294 and then rebuilt. A second destruction took place in 1388, a third in 1462. In 1574, the monastery was again ravaged by the Huguenots and then abandoned. The stones were used to build the nearby Fort de la Prée.