Abbaye de La Bénisson-Dieu

La Bénisson-Dieu

Founded in 1138 by Alberic, a disciple of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, La Bénisson-Dieu is a Cistercian monastery whose abbey church, raised at the end of the 12th century, survives almost alone of the original buildings. Around 1500 the abbey passed under the commendatory system: its most spectacular features date from that time, a fortified bell tower 51 metres high and the dazzling roof of polychrome glazed tiles of the late 15th century, which makes its fame today. In 1611 the monastery was turned into an abbey of nuns under Françoise de Nérestang, and a Baroque chapel was completed in 1651. At the Revolution the nuns left and the conventual buildings were dismantled, but the church was bought back by the inhabitants and became the village parish church, which saved it from ruin. Listed as a historic monument as early as 1840, it keeps in its bell tower a treasury — statues, liturgical ornaments, altarpieces, reliquaries and chasubles — and a viewing platform fitted out at 35 metres gives a view over the valley. The building remains one of the great Cistercian witnesses of the Roannais, a few kilometres from the abbey of Charlieu.

Getting there : Village of La Bénisson-Dieu (42720), north of Roanne, near Charlieu; information and visits through the Charlieu-Belmont tourist office (04 77 60 12 42); treasury on the first four levels of the bell tower and viewing platform at 35 m.

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

Ambient sound