Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Ambronay

Ambronay

On the edge of the Bugey, Ambronay is a soldier's monastery. Tradition has it that its founder, Barnard, was a knight in Charlemagne's army: around 800, the Carolingian officer laid down his arms, had a Benedictine monastery built here, and ended his days as bishop of Vienne — and a saint. On the ruins of the Carolingian church there later rose the Gothic abbey church visited today, peopled with grimacing gargoyles, carvings and paintings that children delight in hunting out. The cloister, with its galleries and its tower, invites meditation; a garden there gathers the medicinal plants the monks once grew. The Revolution put an end to a thousand years of monastic life: the monks left in 1791, and for seven years the abbey served as a prison for suspected counter-revolutionaries, before being sold and parcelled out into barn, school, hospice and dwellings. The church was protected as a historic monument as early as 1889, and the 20th century brought the place an unexpected resurrection: now a Centre culturel de rencontre (cultural centre), the abbey hosts every autumn one of the greatest baroque music festivals in Europe, along with academies where young musicians are trained. The vaults that once carried the Benedictines' plainchant now ring with Monteverdi and Bach. One comes to Ambronay for this rare continuity: twelve centuries after Charlemagne's knight, the place has never ceased to serve — prayer yesterday, music today.

Getting there : Place de l'Abbaye, 01500 Ambronay, 45 minutes from Lyon; church and Gothic cloister free admission, guided tours and events run by the Centre culturel de rencontre; baroque music festival in the autumn.

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

Ambient sound