Abbaye de la Joie

Hennebont

The abbey of Notre-Dame-de-Joie was founded around the middle of the 13th century by Blanche of Champagne, wife of Duke John I the Red of Brittany. The first nuns came from the prestigious abbey of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs in Paris, led by the first abbess, Sibille de Beaugé, cousin of the founding duchess. For more than two centuries the community prayed and worked on the banks of the Blavet, until a devastating fire ravaged the abbey in 1512, destroying the church, the sacristy, the chapter house and much of the cloister. It was not until 1693, under Abbess Suzanne de Plœuc, that the buildings rose again in the classical style. Of this rebuilding there survive the gatehouse, which became the Maison des Confesseurs in 1699, and the L-shaped abbess's lodging. Sold at the Revolution, the abbey met an unexpected fate: since 1856 its grounds have housed the Hennebont national stud, while the Maison des Confesseurs, owned by the town, now serves as an artists' residence welcoming creators and writers — a place where the silence of the nuns gave way to that of horses, and then to that of creation.

Getting there : On the banks of the Blavet, rue du Champ de Tir, Hennebont (Morbihan)

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

Ambient sound