Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Acey

Vitreux

In 1136, twenty-three monks and ten lay brothers from the mother house of Cherlieu settled on the borders of the Jura, the Doubs and the Haute-Saône to found Notre-Dame d'Acey. The abbey stands in the direct line of the Cistercian revival born in 1098, when Robert, Alberic and Stephen left Molesme to return to a stricter reading of the Rule of Saint Benedict: poverty, silence, manual labour. A rare and precious fact: Acey is today the only living heir of the thirteen monasteries of men founded in Franche-Comté in the 12th century, every other male community in the region having disappeared over the centuries. After coming through wars and economic crises, the community even had to turn to industry around 1950, developing an electroplating works to support itself — an unusual episode for monks devoted to contemplation. To this day a handful of Cistercians live there according to the Rule, sharing their days between prayer and silence. The church, open every day to visitors respectful of the recollection of the place, reveals superb contemporary stained glass made in the 1990s, where the light of the Jura comes to feed, as it did nine centuries ago, the prayer of the monks.

Getting there : Between Dole and Besançon, in the commune of Vitreux (Jura); free visit of the church from 4am to 9pm

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

Ambient sound