The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Abbaye de Fontenay

We visit the exquisite UNESCO World Heritage Site of Abbaye de Fontenay. Founded by St-Bernard in 1119, it is described by UNESCO as being “an excellent illustration of the ideal of self-sufficiency as practiced by the earliest communities of Cistercian monks”.

Having been ravaged and abandoned during the French Revolution, and later serving time as a paper factory, the Abbey has been so carefully restored that it is now the most complete remaining medieval monastery in France. As a testimony to the monastery’s desire to be self-sufficient, the complex includes cloisters, dormitories, outbuildings, fish ponds, bakery, mill, forge and even a prison.

http://www.europeanwaterways.com/