(Last Update: 12.09.2024) primarily in France The Mont Saint Michel There are many beautiful monasteries worth seeing, including Loire Valley Castles Tour if you are doing and your way Saumur CastleIf it's up to , you can easily access it from here. Abbaye de Fontevraud – Fontevraud MonasteryYou should definitely see . You may think that it is not worth traveling just to see this monastery (and I think it is), but Loire River If you plan to move west along the route, one of the most impressive structures you can see will definitely be Fontevraud Monastery.
Fontevraud Monastery about 300 kilometers from Paris It is located in the distance. As I always say, traveling the Loire Valley by car will be the most enjoyable in terms of capturing the details and being free; That's why renting a car seems like the smartest thing to do. Saumur Castlewhere is located SaumurThe monastery, 15 kilometers away from biz August 2017third time in Loire Valley Castles Tour We went while doing it.
After completing the castles we planned to visit between Paris and Tours, we moved further west and visited our last stay, a wonderful B&B. Château du Vaumoving from Saumur CastleAfter a wonderful drive along the banks of the Loire River, we were caught in a terrible rain when we arrived at the Fontevraud Monastery :) But fortunately, the rain soon stopped and the weather became more navigable…
Such outlying You can't really predict how big such a monastery might be in a place; but Fontevraud Monastery covers an area of 13 hectares. If I'm not mistaken, the area covered by the monastery is many times larger than the nearby village of Fontevraud. The village center is located right at the entrance of the monastery. It will also be very enjoyable to take a coffee break here and visit the shops.
Fontevraud Monastery is open every day of the year except January 1 and December 25. It can be visited between 10:00 and 18:00 in the morning. In summer, closing hours may extend until 20:00. When you visit this place, you are visiting not only a monastery but also a huge art gallery. It would be useful to review ticket prices, periodic exhibitions and all other details from the official website link at the end of the article.
Before you start visiting Fontevraud Monastery, it is important that you obtain a brochure showing the tour route and follow the route in the plan; Because this is such a big and complicated place that I don't want you to miss the beautiful places and some details while visiting. Because a few important surprises are waiting for you inside 😉 Before your trip, you can see a large church right across the garden, which you reach after passing through the turnstiles.Abbey Church) is the ideal place to start…
When you first enter, you experience the strange feeling of entering a huge but empty church. There is something ahead and naturally you walk towards it and at the other end, right in the middle, you see four sarcophagi called "gisant". Four important names lie in these sarcophagi: King of France II. Henri and queen Eliénore d'Aquitaine, queen Isabelle d'Angoulême of England ve Richard the Lionheart What we know as Richard I of England. As I learned Richard the Lionheart's body is here but his heart is here Rouen He was in the cathedral. Even his internal organs are now in ruins. Châlus-Chabrol CastleHe was buried in…
Now this “who is who?” If we go into the topics, this article would go on and on, and you can already find this information on the internet, but in short, let me just tell you that these important historical figures are buried in Fontevaud Monastery. When we visited the monastery, the sword and some valuable items belonging to Richard the Lionheart were exhibited here. We also saw some documents and objects related to the crusades during the time of Richard I in this part of the monastery.
At the other end of this giant church you enter, when you exit the right door, you reach a large courtyard surrounded by porticoes. I've always loved this part of monastic architecture. The Mont Saint MichelThis is much larger than the one in “cloisterIt is possible to visit the sections with permanent or periodic exhibitions by entering through the doors you find open while touring around. Believe me, every corner is a separate photo frame...
I recommend that you do not skip the treasury room while wandering around this section. Then the route will take you to the old dormitory. When we entered this giant hall, we encountered a magnificent work of art, the red hall in the photo at the beginning of the article. This exhibition Claude LevequeIt was a work by and could be visited until June 2020. Let's see what kind of works and what kind of environment you will encounter when you go there. The answers to these questions are of course available in the official web page link at the end of the article…
As you leave this hall and wander around, you will come across a prison... Its origins date back to the 12th century. The building, which dates back to the 19th century, was always on the stage of history as an important center of Christianity until the French Revolution, but after the French Revolution, this monastery was closed by the secular administration. Then it started to be used as a prison and you won't believe it, Used as a prison from 1814 to 1963! So before it closes Learning that there were 1962 convicts here in 818 It gave me goosebumps...
Traveling as a touristic activity in these places, where once people literally spent their lives in ruins, makes one feel both guilty and happy about being free. After the prison tour, we let ourselves out and rejoice in our freedom. Then the road will take you past the old kitchen section.
Since the kitchens of castles are generally located on the basement floor, when I saw the kitchen section of Fontevraud Monastery from the outside, I thought it was a separate chapel - to be honest - but it was not :) If the door is open, go inside because its interior architecture is quite interesting. Diagonally opposite the kitchen is the cafe section of the monastery. Here you have the opportunity to eat simple but healthy things.
Again, at this point you will see a staircase going down, so don't miss it 😉 I don't know which exhibition will be there when you go, but when we went down these stairs, we found ourselves wandering through very dark corridors and came across interesting contemporary art works in every corner. The corridor itself is already interesting, and it is also so beautiful. placement Naturally, the trip tastes better when you do the work.
The rest of our trip consists of wandering around some vineyards and gardens. Since monasteries are generally self-sufficient institutions, in the past, vegetables and fruits that the monastery needed were grown in this garden. Today, studies on applied horticulture continue. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants depending on the season; Now you can see whatever vegetable comes to your mind. There is even beekeeping.
There is a restaurant in the building complex at the far end of the garden, but we did not try it; Instead, we went around the back, reached the back of the main building, and chose to enter one by one through the open doors in the courtyard and enjoy the surprises we encountered. Some of the halls we entered had giant models of the monastery, and some had giant monastery details made of lego. As far as I understand, children can even build things themselves with Legos here.
When you go out of the courtyard at the back of the monastery, this time you come across a hill and a theatre. I don't know if you want to go up that hill and watch the view. We were not in the mood to do this, so we went around the side and returned to the point where we first started the trip. On the way, there is also a converted building from the old parts of the monastery. Fontevraud Hotel There is a hotel serving as. I don't know if you would like to stay there?
When you reach the main entrance where we started the tour, museum shopI will recommend you to visit. Especially honey obtained from bees raised in the monastery It will be a good opportunity for you to understand Fontevraud Monastery while eating honey for breakfast every morning. Afterwards, Fontevraud (f.ontvro or fontvğoA small tour in the village might be nice. And after that give me your hand Saumur ve Saumur Castle...
Fontevraud Monastery, which has been classified as a monumental building since 1840 and has therefore been under protection ever since, has been open to visitors since 1975 and more than 150 thousand people visit it annually. I hope that after reading this article, you will Loire Valley Castles TourYou can add this monastery to your list and share your experiences and impressions with us.
If monasteries interest you, maybe this is the place I want you to add to your list of places to visit before seeing this place. The Mont Saint Michel I would like to remind you that it is.
I hope you have many nice trips.
Pleasant trips, pleasant discoveries.
Web address: fontevraud.fr
Address: 49590 Fontevraud-l'Abbaye
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8 Comments
They are very interesting places. There's so much to see.
There are statues of Richard the Lionheart, Eleanor of Aquitenia, etc. But they are not buried there. Do some research again if you want.
Hello,
While visiting Fontevraud Monastery, I didn't feel the need to do research because I saw the place shown as the tomb of Richard the Lionheart, but now that you wrote it like this, I did research and thanks to you, I learned something new: Richard's heart is in the Rouen cathedral, his internal organs are in the Châlus-Chabrol Castle, His body was buried in Fontevraud Monastery. We can think of it just like Chopin's heart was buried in Warsaw and his body was buried in Paris. Of course, in this case, the location of the grave may vary from person to person. It seems to me that the grave is wherever the body is buried, but I couldn't be sure. Of course, whether it is actually Richard who lies under that sarcophagus in the monastery or not, that may be a matter for gene experts, I am a liar for historians. See for example: https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/richard-i
Thank you for helping me learn this information.
Hello, we had a 5-day getaway to Paris with my friend last October. Before coming, I did a lot of research on your blog and made a travel plan based on the touristic places that interested me and the cafes and restaurants you praised. Thanks to you, we made the most of our short time. We even went to Benlux and got our discount from there :) It was on my mind to say thank you then, but later I forgot. Thank you very much indeed for creating this blog, which can be read not only before our next visit to Paris and France, but also when we miss them. Stay well! 🙂
I'm so glad you had a nice holiday in Paris. Moreover, even though you made this trip a few months ago, it is very kind of you to comment even though time has passed. Therefore, I thank you very much too. Hope you come to Paris again as soon as possible... Greetings and love...
The lighting inside the place is interesting. The French have all forms of art, they can make any place interesting, love for their country☕️⚜️
I think it's great, thank you very much.