Abbey of Fontenay

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Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Image:Abbaye de Fontenay-EgliseBatiments.jpg
State Party	Image:Flag of France.svg France
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv
Reference	165
Region†	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	1981  (5th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

The Abbey of Fontenay is a former Cistercian abbey located in the commune of Montbard, in the département of Côte-d'Or in France.

It was founded by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in 1118, only a few years after he left Cîteaux Abbey to found Clairvaux Abbey. Located in a small forested valley 60 kilometres northwest of Dijon, it achieved great prosperity in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Fontenay enjoyed the protection of the Kings of France but was plundered in the Hundred Year's War and the Wars of Religion. Later, its fortunes declined, and the refectory was demolished by the monks in 1745. The abbey was closed in the French Revolution, and became a paper mill until 1902, owned for most of its period of operation by the Montgolfier family.

The abbey was bought by Édouard Aynard in 1905 and restored. Apart from the demolished refectory, it retains almost all of its original buildings: church, dormitory, cloister, chapter house, caldarium or "heating room", dovecote and forge, all built in Romanesque style, with later abbot's lodgings and infirmary. Today the abbey buildings are set in modern manicured parterres of lawn and gravel. It is one of the oldest and most complete Cistercian abbeys in Europe, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.

The church of the abbey was built from 1139 to 1147, and was dedicated by Pope Eugene III in 1147. It has a cruciform plan, with a nave 66 metres long and 8 metres wide, with two aisles, and a transept measuring 19 metres. The cloister measures 36×38 metres. The chapterhouse is vaulted, with heavy ribs. The large dormitory is roofed with fifteenth-century chestnut timbers.

[edit] References

• This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article of the French Wikipedia, dated 3 July 2006

[edit] External links

• Website
• UNESCO page
• Paradoxplace Fontenay Photo and History Page

Fontenay - general.JPG	Abbaye de Fontenay - Abbatiale.JPG Interior of the abbey church	Abbaye de Fontenay - le cloitre.jpg Cloister	Fontenay le dortoir.jpg Dormitory
Abbaye de Fontenay.JPG Dovecote	AbbayeFontenay-ViergeEnfant.jpg Statue inside abbey church

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Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe · Amiens Cathedral · Roman and Romanesque Monuments, Arles · Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge, Avignon · Belfries of Belgium and France (with Belgium) · Bordeaux, Port of the Moon · Bourges Cathedral · Canal du Midi · Gulf of Porto (Calanches de Piana • Gulf of Girolata • Scandola Reserve) · Carcassonne · Cathedral of Notre-Dame, former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims · Cathedral of Chartres · Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay · Le Havre · Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes · Lyon · Mont Saint-Michel and its Bay · Fontainebleau Palace and Park · Palace and Park of Versailles · Paris – Banks of the Seine · Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière and Place d'Alliance, Nancy · Pont du Gard · Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley · Provins · Pyrénées – Mont Perdu (with Spain) · Routes of Santiago de Compostela · Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the "Triumphal Arch" of Orange · Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans · Saint-Émilion · Strasbourg – Grande île · Vézelay Church and Hill

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Coordinates: 47°38′27″N, 4°23′23″Eca:Abadia de Fontenay cs:Klášter Fontenay de:Fontenay (Abtei) es:Abadía de Fontenay fr:Abbaye de Fontenay it:Abbazia di Fontenay he:המנזר הציסטריאני של פונטנה hu:Fontenayi cisztercita apátság nl:Abdij van Fontenay ja:フォントネーのシトー会修道院 pl:Opactwo Fontenay fi:Fontenayn apottiluostari sv:Fontenay