Originally founded in 1118 by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the Abbey moved to its present site in 1130. Its founding was four years after its sister at PONTIGNY and it grew to have three hundred monks and lay-brothers at its peak. The decline began in the mid-sixteenth century and it was finally sold in 1791 during the French Revolution and became a paper-mill. Ironically, this went a long way to preserving the monastery, though not without enormous work and expense by the family of the present owners. Over the past century, a magnificent programme of restoration has taken place (not helped by the second world war, when the German army used the chapel as a storehouse).

Rating: ***