Abbaye de Noirlac

Bruère-Allichamps

In 1136, monks from Clairvaux settled on what was then marshy ground beside the Cher, to live the Cistercian ideal in all its rigour. Their "Maison-Dieu" had such harsh beginnings — famine, poverty — that it was not until 1290 that it took the name by which it would go down to posterity: Noirlac. Around 1150 began the great building campaign that has left us today one of the most complete monastic ensembles in France: an abbey church of honey-coloured stone, a cloister with Gothic galleries, chapter house, refectory and lay brothers' dormitory, all of a luminous sobriety faithful to the spirit of Saint Bernard. After the golden age of the 13th century came the misfortunes: the Hundred Years' War, commendatory rule from 1530, slow decline. Sold as national property in 1791, the abbey paradoxically owes its survival to its conversion into a porcelain factory in the 19th century, which saved the buildings from demolition. Bought by the Cher département in 1909 and restored from 1950 to 1980, it is today a Centre culturel de rencontre where music and sound art converse with the exceptional acoustics of the vaults; the contemporary stained glass by Jean-Pierre Raynaud (1977) lets in a white light, radically Cistercian. One comes for the silence of the cloister, the gardens designed by Gilles Clément and the preserved bocage all around: nine centuries of turbulent history in a setting of serenity.

Getting there : Route Jacques-Cœur at Bruère-Allichamps, between Saint-Amand-Montrond and Bourges. Open most of the year (daily in summer, closed Mondays out of season, partial winter closure); self-guided or guided tours, admission charge. Cultural centre: concerts, exhibitions, gardens by Gilles Clément.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound