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Abbaye Notre Dame de Montivilliers

 

 

 

An Abbey Draped in the Flamboyance of the Cloth Industry.
Do you think that gender equality is just a modern concern ? False! In the 7th century, the Church was already thinking about it, particularly St. Ouen, Bishop of Rouen. He asked God to grant that on his lands as many religious communities be founded for women as for men.

With the bishop's backing, St. Philibert founded Montivilliers Abbey, an abbey for nuns draped in sackcloth behind closed gates. The abbey was located in the heart of a prosperous cloth-producing city. In the 15th century, the wealthy burghers triumphantly added a second flamboyant Gothic nave to the Romanesque bays of the Benedictine abbey. However, these were strange parishioners, indeed : during the Revolution, the sans-culottes chased the nuns away. An abbey! Prisoners were held here. A pub was opened. And then... Silence.
Now the splendour has been recaptured, in the intimacy of ancient stones. A presence remains. One thinks of the nuns bowing down in contemplation of the Mystery. Their memory will guide you from the renovated refectory to the rebuilt cloisters, and from the chapter house to the dormitory, as part of a moving museum exhibit that vibrantly evokes the nuns' lives, the abbey's history and its architecture.

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Abbaye Notre Dame de Montivilliers
Coeur d'Abbayes - Jardin de l'Abbaye
76290 Montivilliers

Tel : +33 2 35 30 96 66
Fax : +33 2 35 30 96 65

Contact :

Railroad Station : Le Havre (5 Km)
Airport : Le Havre Octeville (10 Km)

News of the chateaux (in French)

  • Renaissance de la chapelle du Château de Filières
    Pendant la fermeture annuelle du château de Filières, les travaux de restauration du domaine se poursuivent. Après l'orangerie qui a bénéficié d'une remise en état après un chantier qui a duré 3 ans, c'est au tour de la chapelle de renaitre. La chapelle du château s'était partiellement effondrée dans les années 60, et rapidement, la végétation l'avait totalement dissimulée aux...Cliquez pour lire la suite
     

Leisure nearby :

  • Park
  • Museum
  • Horseback riding
  • Outdoor swimming pool
  • Outdoor Tennis
  • Fishing
  • Nautic sport
  • Kids leisure
  • Golf 18 holes

Parking :

  • Outdoor parking

Situation :

  • Countryside