Abbaye de Fontfroide 1093

Fontfroide Abbey is located 15kms  south-west of Narbonne, France, about an hour's drive from the Spanish border. It is nearly a thousand years old so it's older than Notre Dame de Paris.

The abbey is famous for its architecture, and still retains small examples of objects of everyday monastic life. The abbey gains its name from the well which supplied exceedingly cold water.

The buildings are made of sandstone and appear to have different colours but this is simply a result of differing amounts of sunshine falling on various sections of the buildings - changing colour due to varying degrees of humidity. I greatly admired the beautiful ironwork on the gates, doors and light fittings which have survived the centuries.

The community flourished until the Black Death arrived in 1438 when only around 20 monks survived.

From 1476 the management of the abbey was under the 'commendatory' abbots who were not liturgical and were appointed by the Pope and later by the King of France. They would take the entire income of the abbey but gave only the bare minimum to the community and so Fontfroide became impoverished by this greed. The Abbey was abandoned during the French Revolution.

In 1843 the first restoration work was carried out by Viollet-le-Duc ( yes, he of Carcassone and Saint Denis fame).


Some features of note are the porch and blind arcades which were added in the 18th century. The main courtyard was built between the 16th and 17th centuries. Before that the previous courtyard housed workshops including a bakery, forge and joinery. The abbot's quarters have Renaissance-style mullion windows.

The abbey is set in very pleasant countryside close to raw materials needed for an abbey: wood, stone, water, and at its height extended to 30,000 hectares between Beziers and Spain. Its greatest success lasted until the 14th century.


Timeline
1093 founded,
1145 affliliated to Cistercian order,
1208 assasination of a monk from Fontfroide sets in motion the crusade against the Cathars,
1348 the Black Death reduces the community to around 20 monks,
1475 the Abbey is managed by abbots appointed by the pope and later the king,
1791 abandoned during the French Revolution,
1843 first restoration work carried out under Viollet-le-Duc. First historic classification,
1858 frugal living instigated by the Cistercians of the Immaculate Conception,
1901 the community flees into exile in Spain,
1908 the Abbey is purchased privately and their descendants continue to maintain it and preserve its history.

 We took a guided tour in French as there is nothing available in English. Tours do give a lot more detail. Inside the church they had used various niches to display 'modern' art. I found it truly ghastly, garish and a total clash with what I had come to see. I just don't see the value in flurocoloured crayons and knitting- philistine I must be. I much preferred to look up at the stained glass windows which had really required a lot of technical skill and a sense of aesthetics stretching over centuries.

Allow an hour and a half to explore the abbey. There is a restaurant where you can order meals and drinks, and a small shop. The abbey still produces wine.

After the tour I took off to explore the gardens which are on several levels so a modicum of fitness is required. There are medicinal plants, as expected. It's cool under the trees on a hot day. Climb to the top to look out on the view of the valley.

The Abbaye de Fontfroide is a good site to visit between visits to Carcassone and Montpellier or further to la Bouche du Rhone/the Camargue and Provence. Its size, age and architectural merits won't disappoint. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlD8syGIdvM 
https://www.fontfroide.com/https://www.fontfroide.com/