Abbaye de Pontigny et la châsse de saint Edme

Pontigny

In 1114, twelve monks left Citeaux behind abbot Hugues de Macon and settled on the banks of the Serein: Pontigny became the second daughter house of Citeaux. The abbey church, raised from 1138 and one of the largest surviving Cistercian churches, marries the Romanesque rigor called for by Saint Bernard with the first Gothic daring of Burgundy: ribbed vaults, flying buttresses, bare stone without ornament. But what makes Pontigny a great site is its remarkable English destiny. Three archbishops of Canterbury found refuge there: Thomas Becket, exiled from 1164 to 1166, Stephen Langton, then Edmund of Abingdon, who died in 1240 on the road to Rome, near Provins. His body was brought back to Pontigny; hundreds of miracles are attributed to him — tradition relates that a woman from Chatillon-sur-Seine, blind for four years, regained her sight there — and Rome canonized him as early as 1246. Become Saint Edme to the Burgundians, he drew crowds of pilgrims, notably English ones. The monks, departing from Cistercian sobriety, gave him a reliquary of gold and precious stones — a luxury that, it is said, cost the abbot his position. Even today, his monumental 17th-century shrine stands at the back of the sanctuary, borne by four angels, and a small stairway is climbed to glimpse the relics through little windows. In the immense, silent nave, where the restored organ has sounded again since 2023, eight centuries of pilgrimage continue in a low voice.

Getting there : Village of Pontigny, on the D905 between Auxerre and Tonnerre. The abbey church, now a parish church, can be freely visited most days; the abbey grounds are only accessible on a guided tour (check before coming). Coordinates given for the abbey church.

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

Ambient sound