Source de la Somme et abbaye de Fervaques (Fonsomme)

Fonsomme

The Somme rises in the commune of Fonsomme, ten kilometres north-east of Saint-Quentin, at an altitude of 86 metres, at the foot of the former abbey of Fervaques. Wikipedia speaks of ‘the spring (or springs)’: the river comes out of a set of marshes, ponds and canals. The village's name is said to come from fons Sommoe, ‘the spring of the Somme’. Merovingian sarcophagus slabs, found in 1863 in the abbey gardens, attest an ancient settlement. The Cistercian abbey, founded in 1140 by the seneschal of Vermandois Reinier and his wife Élisabeth, was first called Fonsomme, then Fervaques, which Biblissima glosses as ‘boiling waters’, because of the many springs. Wars forced it to be rebuilt several times; the nuns settled in Saint-Quentin in 1648. At Fonsomme, conventual buildings now serve as a farm. The river is 245 kilometres long as far as the baie de Somme. The dates of the abbey's destruction differ according to the sources.

Getting there: Near the village of Fonsomme, south-west of the Fervaques farm (Wikipedia). Coordinates: OpenStreetMap marker ‘Source de la Somme’; access, state of the site and possible private ownership not verified.

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

Ambient sound