Abbaye de Nanteuil-en-Vallée et sa tour du Trésor

Nanteuil-en-Vallée

Tucked into a green valley of the Argentor, Nanteuil-en-Vallée, one of the Petites Cités de Caractère, keeps the remains of one of the oldest abbeys in the Charente. Tradition holds that Charlemagne himself founded it around 780; historians lean instead towards the reign of Charles the Bald, in the 9th century — but the imperial legend fed the pride of the place for centuries. Destroyed by the Norman invasions and restored at the end of the 10th century, the Benedictine abbey prospered in the 11th and 12th centuries: the church was rebuilt from 1046, and it was then that the most singular building on the site was raised, the "Treasury tower", an astonishing Romanesque structure in the form of a square keep where the monks kept their archives, relics and precious objects safe — a strongroom in architectural form, exceedingly rare in France. In 1304 the abbey received a visit from Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux; elected pope the following year as Clement V, he granted it a bull of protection. The Hundred Years' War, the commendatory system and then the Wars of Religion got the better of its prosperity: suppressed in 1770 and sold at the Revolution, the abbey was largely demolished in the 19th century. What remains are the Treasury, the great granaries of the guesthouse and peaceful gardens where one can stroll while imagining the comings and goings of monks and pilgrims. The village, with its wash-houses and narrow lanes, rounds off a visit well off the beaten track.

Getting there : Village of Nanteuil-en-Vallée (7 rue de l'Abbaye), in the north of the Charente near Ruffec. Admission charge (€5 adults, free under 12), April to the end of September, afternoons Tuesday to Sunday; guided tours on Sundays. Coordinates given for the abbey.

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

Ambient sound