Abbaye de Cherlieu

Montigny-lès-Cherlieu

In 1131, twelve monks left Clairvaux on the orders of Saint Bernard to found, in an isolated valley near Jussey, a new Cistercian community: Cherlieu. The name, from the Latin "carus locus", the "dear place", already speaks of the attachment the order would feel for it. The abbey became one of the most powerful in the County of Burgundy, sending out daughter houses as far as Switzerland and Hungary and gathering up to 600 monks at its height. In 1303, the funeral of Count Otto IV of Burgundy brought together 1,500 people there, bishops and nobles from across the region. But history is cruel: the Écorcheurs ravaged the site in 1437–1439, Charles the Bold plundered it in 1475, the Wars of Religion set it ablaze in 1569 — leaving only the church standing. Sold as national property in 1791, the abbey became a stone quarry. Today, a section of the transept wall still stands proudly amid the fields, surrounded by remains of the cloister, a gatekeeper's lodge and a calvary of 1613. Since 2016, the association "Agir pour Cherlieu" has been gradually restoring this listed historic monument, bringing back to life a place that for six centuries was a major spiritual centre of the Haute-Saône.

Getting there : Hamlet of Montigny-lès-Cherlieu, about 12 km south-east of Jussey (Haute-Saône); free access to the surroundings

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

Ambient sound