Montivilliers Abbey

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The Montivilliers Abbey

The Montivilliers Abbey ( French Abbaye de Montevilliers ), which gave the city of Montivilliers in today's Seine-Maritime department its name under its medieval Latin name ( Monasterium Viliare ), is a restored former monastery that was originally founded in the 7th century.

history

The Viliare Monastery was founded as a women's monastery by St. Philibert in the late 7th century . In the 9th century, the Vikings completely destroyed the buildings. Under the direction of the Fécamp Abbey , it was rebuilt at the beginning of the 11th century, this time as an abbey for men. Duke Robert granted the monastery independence in 1035 and it has now become a women's monastery again. The abbey subsequently came into the possession of numerous estates , which finally enabled the abbess Elisabeth to start building a large monastery church from the second half of the 11th century. The building was built in the Norman architectural style of the time of William the Conqueror . In 1791 the monastery was closed and afterwards a saltpeter factory and in the 19th century a brewery were set up in the former abbey . In the 1970s, the city of Montivilliers began to renovate the structure. The work was largely completed in 2010 and the monastery complex can be visited today.

Abbey church

The monastery church was originally built in the 11th century in Romanesque style and is one of the great Benedictine churches in Normandy. The facade dates from the 12th century. Contrary to the original plan, the abbey church received only one tower. In the 14th century a Gothic window was installed above the main portal . In the 15th century, the first seven transoms of the nave were replaced by a wider Gothic nave. Only the south side, which was restored in the 20th century, has been preserved in the original Romanesque style.

  • overall view

  • Main nave and altar

  • Side portal

  • Window picture

abbey

The building ensemble of the Abbaye de Montivilliers consists of the following areas, all of which are open to the public and can mainly be visited with the use of an audio guide :

  • The cloister , whose original appearance has not been passed down; in its present form it was rebuilt in the 21st century in what is presumably historical.
  • The 11th century chapter house .
  • The Gothic refectory from the 13th century, which is now used for changing art exhibitions.
  • The dormitory from the 13th century, which houses a permanent exhibition on the city and abbey history.
  • The 16th century dormitory that visualizes the establishment and development of Norman and English abbeys. The original roof structure made of chestnut wood was retained.
  • The abbesses' apartment, now used as a public library ; this component dates largely from the 18th century.

  • Access gate

  • Cloister and church tower

  • Chapter House

  • Library and church

literature

  • Information brochure from the Tourist Office of Montivilliers: Abbey Church of ST Sauveur - Abbey building , legal notice: FERRIC, Bolbec (accessed on May 15, 2011)
  • Information brochure of the City of Montivilliers: Cœur d'Abbayes (accessed on May 15, 2011)

Web links

Commons : Montivilliers Abbey  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 32 ′ 42.6 "  N , 0 ° 11 ′ 34.1"  E