Abbaye Notre-Dame du Port-du-Salut

Entrammes

At the place called Port-Ringeard, on the left bank of the Mayenne, the abbey of Port-du-Salut sums up eight centuries of monastic life. In 1233, Thibault de Mathefelon, lord of Entrammes, granted the monks of the abbey of La Réau, in Poitou, a farm and its chapel dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Nicholas; six religious established conventual life there. Ruined at the Revolution, the priory was bought in 1807 by a man from Laval, Jean-Baptiste Le Clerc de la Roussière, who restored it. In February 1815, after some twenty years of exile, Cistercian Trappists settled there under Dom Bernard de Girmont and christened their house "Port-du-Salut" (Haven of Salvation), in thanksgiving for the haven they had found. Pope Pius VII raised it to an abbey on 10 December 1816. To make a living, the monks made a cheese that soon became famous, to which they gave the name of the monastery: Port-Salut, whose dairy grew from 1850 onwards. The church was enlarged in 1820–1824, and a vast new monastery raised from 1877 to 1880 by the architect Auguste Beignet. Around a hundred monks lived there in about 1900; the last Trappists left in October 2025, but the 13th-century church remains open to visitors.

Getting there : Locality of Port-Ringeard, 1.5 km west of the village of Entrammes, on the banks of the Mayenne; free entry, individual visits and services open to the public

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

Ambient sound