Abbaye de Loc-Dieu

Martiel

The abbey's very name tells its story: according to local tradition, this remote wooded valley of the Rouergue was once called "locus diaboli", the devil's place, so thoroughly did the brigands who plagued it make the area unfrequentable. When Cistercian monks settled there in 1123, they set about exorcising the place through prayer and work, so well that it was soon renamed "locus Dei", the place of God — Loc-Dieu. A 17th-century inscription, still visible on site, sums up this transformation: "Quod olim fuerat locus diaboli, nunc est locus Dei". Forced by the region's chronic insecurity during the Hundred Years' War, the community fortified its buildings in the 15th century, giving the monastic ensemble the unexpected look of a fortress. Sold as national property at the Revolution, the abbey escaped destruction and in the 19th century became the property of the Cibiel family, whose descendants — still the owners today — had the cloister restored and laid out a romantic park of 40 hectares around the buildings. A private château, lived in yet open to visitors, Loc-Dieu offers a rare example of a Cistercian abbey turned family home without ever disowning its past as a "place of God" nestled in the heart of a once-accursed spot.

Getting there : 9 km west of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, commune of Martiel, Aveyron; park and abbey open to visitors in season

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

Ambient sound