Fontfroide Abbey, Narbonne, France

Fontfroide is a former Cistercian monastery in France, situated 15 kilometers south-west of Narbonne. It was founded in 1093 by the Viscount of Narbonne, but remained poor and obscure until in 1144 it affiliated itself to the Cistercian reform movement. Shortly afterwards the Count of Barcelona gave it the land in Spain that was to form the great Catalan monastery of Poblet, of which Fontfroide counts as the mother house, and in 1157 the Viscountess Ermengard of Narbonne granted it a great quantity of land locally, thus securing its wealth and status. The abbey fought together with Pope Innocent III against the heretical doctrine of the Cathars who lived in the region.

The abbey was dissolved in 1791 in the course of the French Revolution. It was re-founded in 1858 by monks from Sénanque Abbey. The community was driven out of France by French legal changes in 1901. The premises, which are of very great architectural interest, passed into private hands in 1908, when the artists Gustave and Madeleine Fayet d'Andoque bought it to protect the fabric of the buildings from an American collector of sculpture. They restored it over a number of years and used it as a centre for artistic projects.

It still remains in private hands. Today wine is produced here under the French appellations system. It also has a small working farm, bookstore and restaurant and takes paying guests.

References:

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User Reviews

AK Advisor (11 months ago)
Great place to visit. You should consider buying tickets in advance as it gets crowded. The place is quite unusual and is definitely worth visiting.

Gloria Tan (16 months ago)
Dropped by on the way to Montpellier. It was a rainy day when we arrived, definitely dampened the atmosphere a little bit. Rose garden wasn’t in bloom yet, would assume this place will be beautiful in late spring or summer.

Feng Shui Today Magazine (2 years ago)
Worth a visit, the tour was good but not cheap. The wine was a little young for our liking, so we put our bottles down for a future date. Cafe is very efficient, recommend you book if you want a restaurant meal.

Alex von Schilling (2 years ago)
This is a beautiful abbey! A great place to visit, we spent 3 hours to tour the Abby and the gardens. Very picturesque

Elisa S. (2 years ago)
Simply amazing! A wonderful place of beauty and peace. Well organized and easy to visit. Recommended with kids. I particularly liked the gardens full of roses and herbs and the cloister with a purple wisteria in full bloom.

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