Commanderie templière d'Avalleur

Bar-sur-Seine

Even before the commandery was officially founded, around 1167, the Templars already held land at Avalleur, given by Manassès, at once count of Bar-sur-Seine and bishop: an exceptional donor for a place that was to become one of the richest commanderies in Champagne, with possessions stretching to the gates of Troyes. What strikes the visitor today is the almost miraculous state of preservation of the little chapel: its medieval wall paintings, its original walls and its simple plan make it one of the best surviving witnesses to Templar architecture in eastern France. Passed to the Hospitallers in 1312, then sold as national property at the Revolution, the commandery became a farm before being bought back and restored by the Conseil général (departmental council) in 2008. Excavations carried out in 1998 and 2013 uncovered medieval burials around the chapel, a reminder that this peaceful spot was also a cemetery of warrior monks. Now a living museum, Avalleur lets you step, almost intact, into a house of the Temple as it stood eight centuries ago.

Getting there : Hamlet of Avalleur, about 2 km north of Bar-sur-Seine, on the Troyes road (Aube).

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

Ambient sound