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Founded: 1128Category: Religious sites in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)
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The Abbey of St. John was a Benedictine monastery in Laon, France, from 1128 to 1766, which replaced a nunnery founded in 641. The prefecture of the department of Aisne now occupies the site.
In 641 Saint Sadalberga, sister of Saint Leudinus Bodo, disciple of Saint Eustace, second abbot of Luxeuil, and widow of Saint Blandinus, retired to Laon, where she founded a nunnery outside the city walls, south of the town. The dedication was to Our Lady ('Notre-Dame'), the same as that of Laon Cathedral. The community grew rapidly to some 300 nuns. Sadalberga then made it a double monastery. She was herself the first abbess. The second abbess was her daughter, Saint Anstrudis.
The abbey had initially followed an adaptation of the demanding Rule of St. Columbanus but later adopted the Rule of St. Benedict. In 1128 the nuns were replaced by a community of Benedictine monks. At around the same time the dedication changed from Our Lady to Saint John the Baptist.
The abbey was partly destroyed in the wars against the Huguenots, but rebuilt in the 17th century. In 1648 it was taken over by the Maurists. The buildings were renovated from 1742. In 1766 the monastery was suppressed. The college of Laon moved into the premises in 1781.
In 1800 the prefect of the department of Aisne took the complex over and today the entire prefecture stands on the site. The physical remains of the former abbey include some buttresses built into the city wall, parts of a church portal and the 18th-century cloister. It is commemorated in the street name 'Rue du Cloître Saint-Jean'.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.